('lass 



Book_ 

PRESENTED BY 

184-5 




NO CROSS, W CROWN. 



A DISCOURSE, 



SHOWING THE NATURE AND DISCIPLINE OF 



THE HOLY CROSS OF CHRIST: 



AND THAT THE DENIAL OF SELF, AND DAILY BEARING OF 
CHRIST'S CROSS, IS THE ALONE WAY TO THE 
REST AND KINGDOM OF GOD. 

TO "WHICH ARE ADDED, 



THE LIVING AND DYING TESTIMONIES OF MANY PERSONS OF 
FAME AND LEARNING, BOTH OF ANCIENT AND MOD- 
ERN TIMES, IN FAVOUR OF THIS TREATISE. 

IN TWO PARTS. 



BY WILLIAM PENN. 



And Jesus said unto his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him 
deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke, iv. 23. — I have 
fought a good fight, 1 have finished my course, I have kept the faith : Henceforth 
there is laid up^for me a crown of righteousness, &c. 2 Tim. iv. 7. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

FOR SALE AT FRIENDS' BOOKSTORE, 
No. 84 Mulberry Street. 



1845. 




Gift 

W. L. Shoemaker 



PREFACE. 



Reader : — The great business of man's life is to 
answer the end for which he lives; and that is, to 
glorify God, and save his own soul. This is the 
decree of heaven, as old as the world. But so it is, 
that man mindeth nothing less, than what he should 
most mind ; and despiseth to inquire into his own be- 
ing, its original, duty and end; choosing rather to 
dedicate his days, the steps he should make to bless- 
edness, to gratify the pride, avarice, and luxury of his 
heart ; as if he had been born for himself, or rather 
given himself being, and so not subject to the reckon- 
ing and judgment of a superior power. To this la- 
mentable pass hath poor man brought himself, by his 
disobedience to the law of God in his heart, by doing 
that which he knows he should not do, and leaving 
undone what he knows he should do. So long as 
this disease continueth upon man, he will make God 
his enemy, and himself incapable of the love and sal- 
vation, which he hath manifested by his Son, Jesus 
Christ, to the world. 

If, reader, thou art such an one, my counsel to thee 
is, to retire into thyself, and take a view of the con- 
dition of thy soul ; for Christ hath given thee light, 
with which to do it. Search carefully and thoroughly ; 
thy life hangs upon it ; thy soul is at stake. 'Tis but 



4 



PREFACE. 



once to be done ; if thou abusest thyself in it, the loss 
is irreparable ; the world is not price enough to ransom 
thee. Wilt thou then, for such a world, overstay the 
time of thy salvation, and lose thy soul ? Thou hast 
to do, I grant thee, with great patience ; but that also 
must have an end: therefore, provoke not God to 
reject thee. Dost thou know what it is to be rejected ? 
'Tis Tophet, 'tis hell, the eternal anguish of the 
damned. Oh ! reader, as one knowing the terrors of 
the Lord, I persuade thee to be serious, diligent, and 
fervent about thy own salvation ! As one knowing the 
comfort, peace, joy, and pleasure of the ways of right- 
eousness, I exhort and invite thee to embrace the re- 
proofs and convictions of Christ's light and spirit in 
thine own conscience, and bear the judgment of thy 
sin. The fire burns but the stubble ; the wind blows 
only the chaff. Yield thy body, soul, and spirit to 
Him who maketh all things new ; new heavens and 
and new earth, new love, new joy, new peace, new 
works, a new life and conversation. Men are grown 
corrupt and drossy by sin, and they must be saved 
through fire, which purgeth it away; therefore the 
word of God is compared to a fire, and the day of sal- 
vation to an oven ; and Christ himself to a refiner of 
gold, and a purifier of silver. 

Come, reader, hearken to me awhile ; I seek thy 
salvation ; that is my design. A refiner is come near 
thee ; his grace hath appeared to thee : it shows thee 
the world's lusts, and teacheth thee to deny them. 
Receive his leaven, and it will change thee ; his me- 
dicine, and it will cure thee : he is as infallible as 
free ; without money, and with certainty. A touch of 
his garment did it of old, and will do it still : his 



PREFACE. 



5 



virtue is the same, it cannot be exhausted ; for in him 
the fulness dwells. Blessed be God for his sufficiency. 
He laid help upon him, that he might be mighty to 
save all that come to God through him : do thou so, 
and he will change thee : yes, change thy vile body, 
like unto his glorious body. He is the great philoso- 
pher indeed ; the wisdom of God, that turns lead into 
gold, vile things into things precious : for he maketh 
saints out of sinners, and almost gods of men. What 
then must we do, to be witnesses of his power and 
love ? This is the crown : but where is the cross ? 
Where is the bitter cup and bloody baptism? Come, 
reader, be like him. For this transcendant joy, lift up 
thy head above the world ; then thy salvation will 
draw nigh indeed. 

Christ's cross is Christ's way to Christ's crown. 
This is the subject of the following discourse ; first 
written during my confinement in the Tower of Lon- 
don, in the year 1668 ; now reprinted with great en- 
largement of matter and testimonies ; that thou mayest 
be won to Christ ; or if won already, brought nearer 
to him. It is a path, which God in his everlasting 
kindness guided my feet into, in the flower of my 
youth, when about two and twenty years of age. He 
took me by the hand, and led me out of the pleasures, 
vanities, and hopes of the world. I have tasted of 
Christ's judgments, and of his mercies, and of the 
world's frowns and reproaches : I rejoice in my expe- 
rience, and dedicate it to thy service in Christ. . It is 
a debt I have long owed, and has been long expected : 
I have now paid it, and delivered my soul. To my 
country, and to the world of Christians I leave it : 
May God, if he please, make it effectual to them all, 
1* 



6 



PREFACE. 



and turn their hearts from that envy, hatred, and bit- 
terness, they have one against another, about worldly 
things ; sacrificing humanity and charity to ambition 
and covetousness, for which they fill the earth with 
trouble and oppression. That receiving the spirit of 
Christ into their hearts, the fruits of w T hich are love, 
peace, joy, temperance and patience, brotherly kind- 
ness and charity, they may, in body, soul, and spirit, 
make a triple league against the world, the flesh, and 
the devil, the only common enemies of mankind ; and 
having conquered them through a life of self-denial, 
by the power of the cross of Jesus, they may at last 
attain to the eternal rest and kingdom of God. 
So desireth, so prayeth, 

thy fervent Christian friend, 

William Penn. 



NO CEOSS, NO CROWN. 



PART I. 



CHAPTER I. 

1. Of the necessity of the Cross of Christ in general; yet the little 
regard Christians have to it. 2. The degeneracy of Christendom 
from purity to lust, and from moderation to excess. 3. That worldly 
lusts and pleasures are become the care and study of Christians, so 
that they have advanced upon the impiety of infidels. 4. This de- 
fection a second part of the Jewish tragedy, and worse than the 
first: the scorn Christians have cast on their Saviour. 5. Sin is of 
one nature all the world over ; sinners are of the same church, the 
devil's children : profession of religion in wicked men, makes them 
but the worse. 6. A wolf is not a lamb; a sinner cannot be (whilst 
such) a saint. 7. The wicked will persecute the good; this false 
Christians have done to the true, for noncompliance with their super- 
stitions: the strange carnal measures false Christians have taken of 
Christianity ; the danger of that self-seduction. 8. The sense of that 
has obliged me to this discourse, for a dissuasive against the world's 
lusts, and an invitation to take up the daily cross of Christ, as the 
way left us by him to blessedness. 9. Of the self-condemnation of 
the wicked ; that religion and worship are comprised in doing the 
will of God. The advantage good men have upon bad men in the 
last judgment. 10. A supplication for Christendom, that she may 
not be rejected in that great assize of the world. She is exhorted 
to consider what relation she bears to Christ ; if her Saviour, how 
saved, and from what: what her experience is of that great work. 
That Christ came to save from sin, and wrath by consequence ; not 
to save men in sin, but from it, and so the wages of it. 



1. Though the knowledge and obedience of the 
doctrine of the cross of Christ be of infinite moment 



8 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



to the souls of men ; being the only door to true Chris- 
tianity, and the path which the ancients ever trod to 
blessedness ; yet, with extreme affliction, let me say, 
it is so little understood, so much neglected, and what 
is worse, so bitterly contradicted, by the vanity, super- 
stition, and intemperance of professed Christians, that 
we must either renounce the belief of what the Lord 
Jesus hath told us, " That whosoever doth not take 
up his daily cross, and come after him, cannot be his 
disciple or, admitting it for truth, conclude, that the 
generality of Christendom do miserably deceive and 
disappoint themselves in the great business of Chris- 
tianity, and their own salvation. 

2. For, let us be ever so tender and charitable in 
the survey of those nations that claim an interest in 
the holy name of Christ, if we will but be just too, 
we must needs acknowledge, that after all the gracious 
advantages of light, and obligations to fidelity, which 
these flatter ages of the world have received, by the 
coming, life, doctrine, miracles, death, resurrection, 
and ascension of Christ, with the gifts of his Holy 
Spirit ; to which add, the writings, labours, and mar- 
tyrdom of his dear followers in all times ; there seems 
very little left of Christianity but the name : which 
being now usurped by the old heathen nature and life, 
makes the professors of it but true heathens in disguise. 
For though they worship not the same idols, they wor- 
ship Christ with the same heart ; and they can never 
do otherwise, whilst they live in the same lusts. The 
unmortined Christian and the heathen are of the same 
religion. For though they have different objects, to 
which they direct their prayers, adoration in both is 
but forced and ceremonious, and the deity they truly 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



9 



worship is the god of this world, the great lord of 
lusts : to him they bow with the whole powers of soul 
and sense. What shall we eat ? What shall we drink ? 
What shall we wear ? And how shall we pass away 
our time ? Which way may we gather wealth, increase 
our power, enlarge our territories, and dignify and per- 
petuate our names and families in the earth ? This 
base sensuality is comprised by the beloved apostle 
John, in these words : " the lust of the flesh, the lust 
of the eye, and the pride of life, which are not of the 
Father, but of the world that lieth in wickedness. 

3. It is a mournful reflection, but a truth which will 
not be denied, that these worldly lusts fill up a great 
part of the study, care, and conversation of Christen- 
dom ! And, what aggravates the misery is, they grow 
with time. For as the world is older, it is worse. The 
examples of former lewd ages, and their miserable 
conclusions, have not deterred, but excited ours ; so 
that the people of this day seem improvers of the old 
stock of impiety, and have carried it so much farther 
than example, that instead of advancing in virtue, 
upon better times, they are scandalously fallen below 
the life of heathens. Their high-mindedness, lascivi- 
ousness, uncleanness, drunkenness, swearing, lying, 
envy, backbiting, cruelty, treachery, covetousness, in- 
justice, and oppression, are so common and committed 
with such invention and excess, that they have stum- 
bled and embittered infidels, and made them scorn 
that holy religion to which their good example should 
have won their affections. 

4. This miserable defection from primitive times, 
when the glory of Christianity was the purity of its 
professors, I cannot but call the second and worst part 



10 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



of the Jewish tragedy upon the blessed Saviour of 
mankind. For the Jews, from the power of ignorance, 
and their prejudice against the unworldly way of his 
appearance, would not acknowledge him when he 
came, but for two or three years persecuted, and finally 
crucified him in one day. But the false Christians' 
cruelty lasts longer : they have first, with Judas, pro- 
fessed him, and then, for these many ages, most basely 
betrayed, persecuted, and crucified him, by a perpetual 
apostacy in manners from the self-denial and holiness 
of his doctrine ; their lives giving the lie to their faith. 
These are they that the author of the epistle to the 
Hebrews tells us, " crucify to themselves the Son of 
God afresh, and put him to open shame." Their de- 
filed hearts, John, in his Revelation styles, the streets 
of Sodom and Egypt spiritually so called, where he 
beheld the Lord Jesus crucified, long after he had been 
ascended. As Christ said of old, a man's enemies 
are those of his own house ; so Christ's enemies now 
are chiefly those of his own profession : " they spit 
upon him, they nail and pierce him, they crown him 
with thorns, and give him gall and vinegar to drink." 
Nor is this hard to apprehend ; for they that live in 
the same evil nature and principle that the Jews did, 
who crucified him outwardly, must needs crucify him 
inwardly. They that reject the grace now, in their 
own hearts, are one in stock and generation with the 
hard-hearted Jews, who resisted the grace that then 
appeared in and by Christ. 

5. Sin is of one nature all the world over ; for though 
a liar is not a drunkard, nor a swearer a whoremonger, 
nor either properly a murderer, yet they are all of a 
church ; all branches of the one wicked root ; all of 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 11 

kin. They have but one father, the devil, as Christ 
said to the professing Jews, the visible church of that 
age. He slighted their pretensions to Abraham and 
Moses, and plainly told them, he that committed sin, 
was the servant of sin. They did the devil's works, 
and therefore were the devil's children. The argu- 
ment will always hold upon the same reasons, and 
therefore is good still. " His servants you are," saith 
Paul, "whom you obey:" and, saith John to the 
church of old, " Let no man deceive you ; he that 
committeth sin, is of the devil." Was Judas a better 
Christian for crying, Hail, master ! and kissing Christ ? 
By no means. These words were the signal of his 
treachery ; the token given, by which the bloody Jews 
should know and take him. He called him Master, 
but betrayed him. He kissed, but sold him to be 
killed. This is the upshot of the false Christians' re- 
ligion. If a man ask them, is Christ your Lord ? they 
will cry, God forbid else. Yes, he is our Lord. Very 
well ; but do you keep his commandments ? No, how 
should we ? How then are you his disciples ? It is 
impossible, say they ; What ! would you have us keep 
his commandments ? No man can. What ! is it im- 
possible to do that, without which Christ hath made 
it impossible to be a Christian ? Is Christ unreason- 
able ? Does he reap where he has not sown ? require 
where has not enabled ? Thus it is, that, with Judas, 
they call him Master, but take part with the evil of 
the world to betray him ; and kiss and embrace him, 
as far as a specious profession goes ; and then sell him, 
to gratify the passion they most indulge. Thus, as God 
said of old, they make him serve with their sins, and 
for their sins too. 



12. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



" Let no man deceive his own soul ; grapes are not 
gathered of thorns, nor figs of thistles a wolf is not 
a sheep, nor is a vulture a dove. Whatever form, 
people, or church thou art of, it is the truth of God to 
mankind, that they who have the form of godliness, 
but by their unmortified lives deny the power thereof, 
make not the true, but false church : which, though 
she entitle herself the Lamb's britle, or church of 
Christ, she is that mystery or mysterious Babylon, fitly 
called by the Holy Ghost, " the mother of harlots and 
all abominations because degenerated from Christian 
chastity and purity, into all the enormities of heathen 
Babylon ; a sumptuous city of old time, much noted 
as the seat of the kings of Babylon, and at that time 
a place of the greatest pride and luxury. As she was 
then, so mystical Babylon is now, the great enemy of 
God's people. 

7. True it is, they that are born of the flesh hate 
and persecute them that are born of the spirit, who 
are the circumcision in heart. They cannot own nor 
worship God after her inventions, methods, and pre- 
scriptions, nor receive for doctrine her vain traditions, 
any more than they can comply with her corrupt fash- 
ions and customs in their conversation. The case 
being thus, from an apostate she becomes a persecutor. 
It is not enough that she herself declines from ancient 
purity ; others must do so too. She will give those 
no rest, who will not partake with her in that degene- 
racy, or receive her mark. Are any wiser than she, 
than mother church ? No, no : nor can any make war 
with the beast she rides upon ; those worldly powers 
that protect her, and vow her maintenance against the 
cries of her dissenters. Apostacy and superstition are 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



13 



ever proud and impatient of dissent. All must con- 
form, or perish. Therefore the slain witnesses, and 
the blood of the souls under the altar, are found within 
the walls of this mystical Babylon, this great city of 
false Christians, and are charged upon her by the Holy 
Ghost, in the Revelation. Nor is it strange that she 
should slay the servants, who had first crucified theii 
Lord : but it is strange and barbarous too, that she 
should kill her husband, and murder her Saviour, titles 
she seems so fond of, which have been so profitable 
to her ; and by which she would recommend herself, 
though without justice. Her children are reduced so 
entirely under the dominion of darkness, by means of 
their continued disobedience to the manifestation of 
the divine light in their souls, that they forget what 
man once was, or what they should now be ; and know 
not true and pure Christianity, when they meet it ; 
though they pride themselves in professing it. Their 
views about salvation are so carnal and false, they call 
good evil, and evil good. They make a devil a Chris- 
tian, and a saint a devil. So that though the un- 
righteous latitude of their lives be matter of lamenta- 
tion, as it is of destruction to themselves, yet the false 
notion, that they may be children of God, while in a 
state of disobedience to his holy commandments ; and 
disciples of Jesus, though they revolt from his cross ; 
and members of his true church, which is without spot 
or wrinkle, notwithstanding their lives are full of spots 
and wrinkles ; is, of all other deceptions upon them- 
selves, the most pernicious to their eternal condition. 
For they are at peace in sin, and under a security in 
their transgression. Their vain hope silences their 
convictions, and overlays all tender motions to repent- 

2 



14 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



ance : so that their mistake about their duty to God is 
as mischievous as their rebellion against him. 

Thus they walk on precipices, and flatter themselves, 
till the grave swallows them up, and the judgment of 
the great God breaks the lethargy, and undeceives 
their poor wretched souls with the anguish of the 
wicked, as the reward of their work. 

8. This has been, is, and will be the doom of all 
worldly Christians : an end so dreadful, that if there 
were nothing of duty to God, or of obligation to men, 
being a man, and one acquainted with the terrors of 
the Lord in the way and work of my own salvation, 
compassion alone were sufficient to excite me to this 
dissuasive against the world's superstition and lusts, 
and to invite the professors of Christianity to the know- 
ledge and obedience of the daily cross of Christ, as 
the alone way, left by him, and appointed us to bless- 
edness. Thus they who now do but usurp the name, 
may have the thing itself ; and by the power of the 
cross, to which they are now dead, instead of being 
dead to the world by it, may be made partakers of the 
resurrection that is in Christ Jesus, unto newness of 
life. For they that are truly in Christ, that is, redeemed 
by and interested in him, are new creatures. They 
have received a new will, such as does the will of 
God, not their own. They pray in truth, and do not 
mock God when they say, " thy will be done in earth 
as it is in heaven." They have new affections, such 
as are set on things above, and make Christ their 
eternal treasure: new faith, such as overcomes the 
snares and temptations of the world's spirit in them- 
selves, or as it appears through others : and lastly, new 
works, not of superstitious contrivance, or of human 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



15 



invention, but the pure fruits of the spirit of Christ 
working in them, as love, joy, peace, meekness, long- 
suffering, temperance, brotherly kindness, faith, pa- 
tience, gentleness, and goodness, against which there 
is no law. They that have not this spirit of Christ, 
and walk not in it, the apostle Paul has told us, are 
none of his ; but the wrath of God, and condemnation 
of the law, will lie upon them. If " there is no con- 
demnation to them that are in Christ, who walk not 
after the flesh, but after the Spirit," which is Paul's 
doctrine ; they that w T alk not according to that Holy 
Spirit, by his doctrine, are not in Christ ; that is, have 
no interest in him, nor just claim to salvation by him ; 
and consequently there is condemnation to such. 

9. The truth is, the religion of the wicked is a lie : 
" There is no peace," saith the prophet, " to the 
wicked." Indeed there can be none, for they are 
reproved in their own consciences, and condemned in 
their own hearts, in all their disobedience. Go where 
they will, rebukes go with them, and oftentimes terrors 
too : it is an offended God who pricks them, and, by 
his light, sets their sins in order before them. Some- 
times they strive to appease him by their outside de- 
votion and worship, but in vain ; for the true worship- 
ping of God is doing his will, which they transgress. 
The rest is a false compliment, like him that said he 
w r ould go, and did not. Sometimes they fly to sports 
and company to drown the reprover's voice, and blunt 
his arrows, to chase away troubled thoughts, and 
secure themselves out of the reach of the disquieter of 
their pleasures : but the Almighty, first or last, is sure 
to overtake them. There is no flying from his final 
justice, for those who reject the terms of his mercy. 



±v NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Impenitent rebels to his law may then call to the 
mountains, and run to the eaves of the earth for pro- 
tection, but in vain. His all-searching eye will 
penetrate their thickest coverings, and strike up a 
light in that obscurity, which shall terrify their guilty- 
souls, and which they shall never be able to extinguish. 
Indeed their accuser is with them ; they can no more 
be rid of him, than of themselves ; he is in the midst 
of them, and will stick close to them. That spirit 
which bears witness with the spirits of the just, will 
bear witness against theirs. Nay, their own hearts 
will abundantly come in against them ; and " if our 
heart condemn us," says the apostle John, " God is 
greater, and knows all things:" that is, there is no 
escaping the judgments of God, whose power is in- 
finite, if a man is not able to escape the condemnation 
of himself. 

At that day, proud and luxurious Christians shall 
learn, that God is no respecter of persons ; that all 
sects and names shall be swallowed up in these two 
kinds, sheep and goats, just and unjust : The very 
righteous must have a trial for it. Which made a 
holy man cry out, " If the righteous scarcely be saved, 
where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" If 
their thoughts, words, and works must stand the test, 
and come under scrutiny before the impartial Judge 
of heaven and earth, how then should the ungodly be 
exempted ? No, we are told by him that cannot lie, 
many shall then cry, Lord, Lord ; set forth their pro- 
fession, and recount the works they have done in his 
name, to make him propitious, and yet be rejected, 
with this direful sentence: "Depart from me, ye 
workers of iniquity, I know you not." As if he had 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



17 



said, Get you gone, you evil-doers ; though you have 
professed me, I will not know you : your vain and evil 
lives have made you unfit for my holy kingdom. Get 
you hence, and go to the gods whom you have served ; 
your beloved lusts, which you have worshipped, and 
the evil world that you have so much coveted and 
adored: let them save you now, if they can, from the 
wrath to come upon you, which is the wages of the 
deeds you have done. 

Here is the end of their work who build upon the 
sand ; the breath of the Judge will blow it down ; and 
woful will the fall thereof be. Oh it is now, that the 
righteous have the better of the wicked ! which made 
an apostate cry in old time, " Let me die the death of 
the righteous, and let my last end be like unto his." 
To them the sentence is changed, and the Judge smiles : 
he casts the eye of love upon his own sheep, and in- 
vites them with a " Come, ye blessed of my Father," 
who through patient continuance in well doing, have 
long waited for immortality : ye have been the true 
companions of my tribulations and cross, and with 
unwearied faithfulness, in obedience to my holy will, 
have valiantly endured to the end, looking to me, the 
author of your precious faith, for the recompense of 
reward, which I have promised to them that love me, 
and faint not. " enter ye into the joy of your Lord, 
and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world." 

10. Christendom! my soul most fervently prays, 
that after all thy lofty professions of Christ, and his 
meek and holy religion, thy unsuitable and unchrist- 
like life may not cast thee at that great assize of the 
world, and lose thee this great salvation at last. Hear 
2* 



18 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



me once, I beseech thee : Can Christ be thy Lord, and 
thou not obey him ? Or, canst thou be his servant, 
and never serve him ? Be not deceived ; such as thou 
sowest, shalt thou reap : He is none of thy Saviour, 
whilst thou rejectest his grace in thy heart, by which 
he would save thee. Come, what has he saved thee 
from ? Has he saved thee from thy sinful lusts, thy 
worldly affections, and vain conversations ? If not, 
then he is none of thy Saviour. For though he be 
offered a Saviour for all, yet he is actually a Saviour 
to those only who are saved by him ; and none are 
saved by him, who live in those evils by which they 
are lost from God, and which he came to save them 
from. 

It is from sin that Christ is come to save man, and 
from death and wrath, as the wages of it. But those 
who are not saved, that is, delivered by the power of 
Christ in their souls, from the power that sin has had 
over them, can never be saved from the death and 
wrath, which are the certain wages of the sin they 
live in. 

So far as people obtain victory over those evil dis- 
positions and fleshly lusts to which they have been 
addicted, so far they are truly saved, and are witnesses 
of the redemption that comes by Jesus Christ. His 
name shows his work : " And thou shalt call his name 
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." 
" Behold," said John of Christ, "the Lamb of God 
that taketh away the sin of the. world !" That is, be- 
hold him, whom God hath given to enlighten people, 
and for salvation to as many as receive him, and his 
light and grace in their hearts, and take up their daily- 
cross, and follow him : such as would rather deny 



19 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



themselves the pleasure of fulfilling their lusts, than 
sin against the knowledge he has given them of his 
will ; or do that which they know they ought not to do. 



CHAPTER II. 

1. By this Christendom may see her lapse, how foul it is; and next, 
the worse for her pretence of Christianity. 2. But there is mercy 
with God upon repentance, and propitiation in the blood of Jesus. 
3. He is the Light of the world, that reproves the darkness, that is, 
the evil of the world; and he is to be known within. 4. Christen- 
dom, like the inn of old, is full of other guests ; she is advised to 
believe in, receive, and apply to Christ. 5. Of the nature of true 
faith; it brings power to overcome every appearance of evil. This 
leads to consider the cross of Christ, which has been so much wanted. 
6. The apostolic ministry, and end of it; its blessed effect. ; the cha- 
racter of apostolic times. 7. The glory of the cross, and its triumph 
over the heathen world. A measure to Christendom, what she is net, 
and should be. 8. Her declension, and cause of it. 9. The misera- 
ble effects that followed. 10. From the consideration of the cause, 
the cure may be more easily known, viz.: Not faithfully taking up 
the daily cross; then faithfully taking it daily up, must be the 
remedy. 

1. By all which has been said, Christendom ! and 
by that better help, if thou wouldst use it, the lamp 
the Lord has lighted in thee, which is not utterly ex- 
tinct, it may evidently appear, first, how great thy 
backsliding has been, who, from the temple of the 
Lord, art become a cage of unclean birds ; and instead 
of an house of prayer, a den of thieves, a synagogue 
of satan, and the receptacle of every defiled spirit. 
Next, that under all this manifest defection, thou hast 
nevertheless valued thy corrupt self upon thy profession 



*V NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

of Christianity, and fearfully deluded thyself with the 
hopes of salvation. The first makes thy disease dan- 
gerous, but the last almost incurable. 

2. Yet because there is mercy with the God of com- 
passion, that he may be feared, and that he takes no 
delight in the eternal death of poor sinners, no, though 
backsliders themselves, but is willing all should come 
to the knowledge and obedience of the truth, and be 
saved : he has sent forth his Son a propitiation, and 
given him a Saviour to take away the sins of the whole 
world, that those who believe and follow him may 
feel the righteousness of God in the remission of their 
sins, and the blotting out of their transgressions for 
ever. Behold the remedy ! an infallible cure, one of 
God's appointing ; a precious elixir indeed that never 
failed ; and that universal medicine, which no malady 
could ever escape. 

3. But thou wilt say, what is Christ, where is he to 
be found, and how received, and applied, in order to 
this mighty cure ? I will tell thee, then : first, he is 
the great spiritual Light of the world, who enlightens 
every one that comes into the world ; by which he 
manifests to them their deeds of darkness and wick- 
edness, and reproves them for committing them. Sec- 
ondly, he is not far away from thee, as the apostle 
Paul said of God to the Athenians. Christ himself 
says, " Behold I stand at the door and knock ; if any 
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in 
to him, and sup with him, and he with me." What 
door can this be, but that of the heart of man ? 

4. Like the inn of old, thou hast been full of other 
guests : thy affections have entertained other lovers : 
there has been no room for thy Saviour in thy soul. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 21 

Wherefore salvation is not yet come into thy house, 
though it is come to thy door, and thou hast often been 
proffered it, and hast profest it long. But if he calls, 
if he knocks still, that is, if his light yet shines, if it 
reproves thee still, there is hope that thy day is not 
over, and that repentance is not hid from thine eyes ; 
but his love is toward thee still, and his holy invitation 
continues, to save thee. 

Wherefore, Christendom ! Believe, receive, and 
apply him rightly ; this is of absolute necessity, that 
thy soul may live forever with him. He told the 
Jews, " If you believe not that I am he, ye shall die 
in your sins; and whither I go, ye cannot come." 
* Because they believed him not, they did not receive 
him, nor any benefit by him. But they that believed 
him, received him : " and as many as received him, 1 ' 
his own beloved disciple tells us, " to them gave he 
power to become the sons of God ; which are bom 
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the 
will of man, but of God.' 1 That is, they are not chil- 
dren of God after the fashions, prescriptions, and tra- 
ditions of men, who call themselves his church and 
people, which is not after the will of flesh and blood, 
and the invention of carnal man, unacquainted with 
the regeneration and power of the Holy Ghost, but of 
God ; according to his will, and the working and 
sanctification of his spirit and word of life in them. 
Such were ever well versed in the right application of 
Christ, for he is made -to them indeed propitiation, 
reconciliation, salvation, righteousness, redemption, 
and justification. 

So I say to thee, unless thou believest that he who 
stands at the door of thy heart and knocks, and sets 



ZZ NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

thy sins in order before thee, and calls thee to repent- 
ance, be the Saviour of the world, thou wilt die in thy 
sins,^ and where he is gone, thou wilt never come. 
For if thou believest not in him, it is impossible that 
he should do thee good, or effect thy salvation. Christ 
works not against faith, but by it. It is said of old, 
he did not many mighty works in some places, because 
the people believed not in him. If thou truly believest 
m him, thine ear will be attentive to his voice in thee, 
and the door of thine heart open to his knocks. Thou 
wilt yield to the discoveries of his light, and the teach- 
ings of his grace will be very dear to thee. 
■ 5. It is the nature of true faith to beget an holy fear 
of offending God, a deep reverence for his precepts, 
and a most tender regard to the inward testimony of 
his Spirit, as that by which his children, in all ages, 
have been safely led to glory. For as they that truly 
believe, receive Christ in all his tenders to the soul, 
so true it is, that those who receive him thus, receive 
power to become the sons of God : that is, an inward 
force and ability to do whatever he requires : strength 
to mortify their lusts, control their affections, resist 
evil motions, deny themselves, and overcome the world 
in its most enticing appearances. This is the life of 
the blessed cross of Christ, which is the subject of the 
following discourse, and what thou, man, must take 
up, if thou intendest to be the disciple of Jesus. Nor 
canst thou be said to receive Christ, or believe in him, 
whilst thou rejectest his cross. For as receiving Christ 
is the means appointed of God to salvation, so bearing 
thy daily cross after him is the only true testimony of 
receiving him; and therefore it is enjoined by him, 
as the great token of discipleship, " If any man will 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



23 



come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his 
cross, and follow me." 

This, Christendom, is what thou hast so much want- 
ed, and the want of it has proved the cause of thy 
miserable declension from pure Christianity. To con- 
sider this well, as it 4s thy duty, so it is of great use 
to thy restoration. 

As the knowledge of the cause of any distemper 
guides the physician to make a right and safe judgment 
in the application of his medicine, so it will much en- 
lighten thee in the way of thy recovery, to know and 
weigh the first cause of this spiritual lapse and malady 
that has befallen thee. To do which, a general view 
of thy primitive estate, and consequently of their work 
that first laboured in the Christian vineyard, will be 
needful ; and if therein something be repeated, the 
weight and dignity of the subject will bear it without 
the need of an apology. 

6. The work of apostleship, we are told by a prime 
labourer in it, was, to turn people from darkness to 
light, and from the power of Satan unto God. That 
is, instead of yielding to the temptations and motions 
of satan, who is the prince of darkness, (or wicked- 
ness, the one being a metaphor to the other) by whose 
power their understandings were obscured, and their 
souls held in the service of sin, they should turn their 
minds to the appearance of Christ, the light and Sa- 
viour of the world ; who by his light shines in their 
souls, and thereby gives them a sight of their sins, 
and discovers every temptation and motion in them 
unto evil, and reproves them when they give way 
thereunto ; that so they might become the children of 
light, and walk in the path of righteousness. For 



24 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



this blessed work of reformation, Christ endued his 
apostles with his spirit and power, that so men might 
no longer sleep in a security of sin, and ignorance of 
God, but awaken to righteousness, that the Lord Jesus 
might give them life. That they might leave off sin- 
ning, deny themselves the pleasure of wickedness, 
and by true repentance turn their hearts to God in 
well-doing, in which is peace. And .truly, God so 
blessed the faithful labours of these poor mechanics, 
his great ambassadors to mankind, that, in a few years, 
many thousands who had lived without God in the 
world, without a sense or fear of him, lawlessly, very 
strangers to the work of his spirit in their hearts, being 
captivated by fleshly lusts, were inwardly struck and 
quickened by the word of life, and made sensible of 
the coming and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, as a 
Judge and Lawgiver in their souls. By his holy light 
and spirit, the hidden things of darkness were brought 
to light and condemned, and pure repentance from 
those dead works begotten in them, that they might 
serve the living God in newness of spirit. Thence- 
forward they lived not to themselves, neither were 
they carried away of those former lusts, by which they 
had been seduced from the true fear of God ; but the 
law of the spirit of life, by which they overcame the 
law of sin and death, was their delight, and therein 
they meditated day and night. Their regard towards 
God was not derived from the precepts of men any 
longer, but from the knowledge they had received by 
his own work and impressions in their souls. They 
had quitted their old masters, the world, the flesh, and 
the devil, and delivered up themselves to the holy 
guidance of the grace of Christ, which taught them 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 25 

to deny ungodliness and the world's lusts, and to live 
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present life. 
This is the cross of Christ indeed : and here is the 
victory it gives to them that take it up : by this cross 
they died daily to the old life they had lived ; and by 
holy watchfulness against the secret motions of evil 
in their hearts, they crushed sin in its conception, yea, 
in its temptations. So that, as the apostle John ad- 
vises, they kept themselves, that the evil one touched 
them not. 

The light, which satan cannot endure, and with 
which Christ enlightened them, discovered him in all 
his approaches and assaults upon the mind ; and the 
power they received through their obedience to the 
manifestations of that blessed light, enabled them to 
resist and vanquish him in all his stratagems. Thus 
it was, that where once nothing was examined, nothing 
went unexamined. Every thought must come to judg- 
ment, and the rise and tendency of it be well approved, 
before they allowed it any room in their minds. There 
was no fear of entertaining enemies for friends, whilst 
this strict guard was kept upon the very wicket of the 
soul. The old heavens and earth, that is, the old 
earthly conversation, and old carnal or shadowy wor- 
ship, passed away apace, and every day all things be- 
came new. " He was no more a Jew, who was one 
outwardly, nor that circumcision, that was in the flesh ; 
but he was the Jew, who was one inwardly ; and that 
circumcision, which was of the heart, in the spirit and 
not in the letter, whose praise is not of man, but of 
God." 

7. The glory of the cross shined so conspicuously 
through the self-denial of their lives who daily bore 

3 



26 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



it, that it filled the heathen with astonishment, and in 
a small time so shook their altars, discredited their 
oracles, struck the multitude, invaded the court, and 
overcame their armies, that it led priests, magistrates, 
and generals, in triumph after it, as trophies of its 
power and victory. 

While this integrity dwelt with Christians, mighty 
was the presence, and invincible the power that attend- 
ed them. It quenched fire, daunted lions, turned the 
edge of the sword, out-faced instruments of cruelty, 
convicted judges, and converted executioners. In fine, 
the ways their enemies took to destroy, increased them ; 
and by the deep wisdom of God, those were made 
great promoters of the truth, who in all their designs 
endeavoured to extinguish it. Now, not a vain thought, 
nor an idle word, nor an unseemly action, was per- 
mitted ; no, not an immodest look : no courtly dress, 
gay apparel, complimental respects, or personal hon- 
ours ; much less could those lewd immoralities, and 
scandalous vices now in vogue with Christians, find 
either example or connivance among them. Their 
care was not how to sport away their precious time, 
but how to redeem it, that they might have enough to 
work out their great salvation with fear and trembling ; 
not with balls and masks, with play-houses, dancing, 
feasting, and gaming: No, no: To make sure of 
their heavenly calling and election, was much dearer 
to them than the poor and trifling joys of mortality. 
Having, with Moses, seen him that is invisible, and 
found that his loving-kindness was better than life, 
and the peace of his Spirit than the favour of princes; 
as they feared not Csesar's wrath, so they chose rather 
to sustain the afflictions of Christ's true pilgrims, than 



NO CB.OSS, NO CROWN. 



27 



to enjoy the pleasures of sin, that were but for a sea- 
son ; esteeming his reproaches of more value than the 
perishing treasures of the earth. If the tribulations 
of Christianity were more eligible than the comforts 
of the world, and the reproaches of one, than all the 
honour of the other ; there was then surely no tempta- 
tion in it, that could shake the integrity of Christen- 
dom. 

8. By this short view of what Christendom was, 
thou mayest see, Christendom, what thou art not, 
and what thou oughtest to be. But how comes it, that 
from a Christendom that was thus meek, merciful, 
self-denying, suffering, temperate, holy, just and good, 
so like to Christ, whose name she bore, we find a 
Christendom now, that is superstitious, idolatrous, per- 
secuting, proud, passionate, envious, malicious, selfish, 
drunken, lascivious, unclean, lying, swearing, cursing, 
covetous, oppressing, defrauding ; with all other abom- 
inations known in the earth, and that to an excess 
justly scandalous to the worst of heathen ages, surpass- 
ing them more in evil than in time : I say, how comes 
this lamentable defection ? 

I lay this down, as the undoubted reason of this 
degeneracy, to wit, the disregard of thy mind to the 
light of Christ shining in thee ; that first showed thee 
thy sins, and reproved them, and taught and enabled 
thee to deny and resist them. For as thy fear towards 
God, and holy abstinence from unrighteousness, was 
not taught by the precepts of men, but by that light 
and grace, which revealed the most secret thoughts 
and purposes of thine heart, and searched thy most 
inward parts, setting thy sins in order before thee, and 
reproving thee for them, not suffering one unfruitful 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

thought, word, or work of darkness, to go unjudged ; 
so when thou didst begin to disregard that light and 
grace, to be careless about that holy watch that was 
once set up in thine heart, and didst not keep sentinel 
there as formerly for God's glory, and thy own peace ; 
the restless enemy of man's good quickly took advan- 
tage of this slackness, and often surprised thee with 
temptations, whose suitableness to thy inclinations 
made his conquest over thee not difficult. 

Thou didst omit to take up Christ's holy yoke, and 
to bear thy daily cross. Thou wast careless of thy 
affections, and kept no journal or check upon thy 
actions ; but didst decline to audit accounts in thy 
own conscience, with Christ thy light, the great Bishop 
of thy soul, and Judge of thy works, whereby the holy 
fear decayed, and love waxed cold ; vanity abounded, 
and duty became burdensome. Then up came for- 
mality, instead of the power of godliness ; superstition, 
in place of Christ's institution : and although Christ's 
business was, to draw off the minds of his disciples 
from an outward temple, and carnal rites and services, 
to the inward and spiritual worship of God, suitable 
to the nature of divinity, a worldly, human, pompous 
worship is brought in again, and a worldly priesthood, 
temple, and altar re-established. Now the " sons of 
God once more saw that the daughters of men were 
fair," that is, the pure eye grew dim, which repent- 
ance had opened, that saw no comeliness out of Christ • 
and the eye of lust became unclosed again, by the god 
of the world ; and those worldly pleasures, that make 
such as love them forget God, though once despised 
for the sake of Christ, began now to recover their old 
beauty and interest in thy affections ; and from liking 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 29 

them, came to be the study, care, and pleasure of thy 
life. 

True, there still remained the exterior forms of wor- 
ship, and a nominal and oral reverence to God and 
Christ ; but that was all ; for the offence of the holy 
cross ceased, the power of godliness was denied, self- 
denial lost ; and though fruitful in the invention of 
ceremonious ornaments, yet barren in the blessed fruits 
of the Spirit. And a thousand shells cannot make one 
kernel, nor many dead corpses one living man. 

9. Thus religion fell from experience to tradition, 
and worship from power to form, from life to letter. 
Instead of putting up lively and powerful requests, 
animated by the deep sense of want, and the assist- 
ance of the Holy Spirit, by which the ancients prayed, 
wrestled, and prevailed with God ; behold, a by- 
rote repetition, a dull and insipid formality, made up 
of bowings and cringings, garments and furnitures, 
perfumes, voices, and music ; fitter for the reception 
of some earthly prince, than the heavenly worship of 
the only true and immortal God, who is an eternal, 
invisible spirit. 

Thy heart growing carnal, thy religion did so too • 
and not liking it as it was, thou fashionedst it to thy 
liking; forgetting what the holy prophet said, " the 
sacrifice of the "wicked is an abomination to the Lord." 
and what James saith, " Ye ask, and ye receive not," 
and why? "because ye ask amiss," that is, with an 
heart that is not right, but insincere, and unmortifled, 
not in the faith that purifies the soul, and therefore 
can never receive what is asked : so that a man may 
say with truth, thy condition is made worse by thy 
3* 



30 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

religion, because thou art tempted to think thyself the 
better for it, and art not. 

10. By this prospect that is given thee of thy fall 
from primitive Christianity, and the true cause of it, 
to wit, a neglect of the daily cross of Christ, it may 
be easy for thee to inform thyself of the way of thy 
recovery. 

At the door by which thou wentest out, thou must 
come in ; and as letting fall and forbearing the daily 
cross lost thee, so taking up and enduring the daily 
cross must recover thee. It is the way by which sin- 
ners and apostates become the disciples of Jesus. 
" Whosoever," says Christ, will come after me, and 
be my disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his 
daily cross, and follow me." Nothing short of this 
will do. As it is sufficient, so is it indispensable : no 
crown, but by the cross ; no life eternal, but through 
death : and it is but just, that those evil and barbarous 
affections, that crucified Christ afresh, should by his 
holy cross be crucified. Blood requires blood; his 
cross is the death of sin, that caused his death ; and 
he is the death of death, according to that passage, 
death ! I will be thy death ! 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



31 



CHAPTER III. 

1. What is the cross of Christ ? A figurative speech ; but truly, the 
divine power, that mortifies the world. 2. It is so called by the 
apostle Paul to the Corinthians, 3. Where is it the cross appears, 
and must be borne? Within, where the lusts are, there they must 
be crucified. 4. Experience teaehes every one this, to be sure, 
Christ asserts it, from within comes murder, &c. and that is the 
house where the strong man must be bound. 5. How is the cross 
to be borne ? The way is spiritual, a denial of self, the pleasure of 
sin, to please God and obey his will, as manifested to the soul by the 
light he gives it. 6. This shows the difficulty, yet the necessity of 
the cross. 

The daily cross being then, and still, Christen- 
dom, the way to glory ; that the succeeding matter, 
which wholly relates to the doctrine of it, may come 
with most evidence and advantage upon thy con- 
science, it is seriously to be considered by thee. 

First, What the cross of Christ is. 

Secondly, where the cross of Christ is to be taken 
up. 

Thirdly, How and after what manner, it is to be 
borne. 

Fourthly, What is the great work and business of 
the cross. In which the sins it crucifies, with the 
mischiefs that attend them, will be at large expressed. 

Fifthly and lastly, I shall add many testimonies 
from living and dying persons, of great reputation, 
either for their quality, learning or piety, as a general 
confirmation of the whole tract. 

To the first, What is the cross of Christ ? 

1. The cross of Christ is a figurative speech, bor- 
rowed from the outward tree, or wooden cross, on 
which Christ submitted to the will of God, in permit- 



32 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

ting him to suffer death at the hands of evil men. 
The cross mystical is that divine grace and power, 
which crosses the carnal wills of men, gives a contra- 
distinction to their corrupt affections, and constantly 
opposeth itself to the inordinate and fleshly appetite of 
their minds ; and so may be justly termed the instru- 
ment of man's holy dying to the world, and being 
made conformable to the will of God. Nothing else 
can mortify sin, or make it easy for us to submit to 
the divine will, in things otherwise very contrary to 
our own. 

2. The preaching of the cross in primitive times, 
w T as fitly called by Paul, that famous and skilful apos- 
tle in spiritual things, the power of God, though to 
them that perish, it was. then, as now, foolishness. 
That is, to those who were truly weary and heavy 
laden, and needed a deliverer, to whom sin was burden- 
some and odious ; the preaching of the cross by which 
sin was to be mortified, was the power of God, or a 
preaching of the divine power, by which they were 
made disciples of Christ, and children of God : and it 
wrought so powerfully upon them, that no proud or 
licentious mockers could put them out of love with it. 
But to those who walked in the broad way, in the full 
latitude of their lusts, and dedicated their time and 
care to the pleasure of their corrupt appetites, to whom 
all yoke and bridle were, and are, intolerable, the 
preaching of the cross was, and is, foolishness. To 
which I may add, in the name but of too many now- 
a-days, and the practice of it ridiculous ; embraced by 
none, if they maybe believed, but half-witted people, 
of stingy and singular tempers, affected with the 
hypochondria, and oppressed with the power of mel- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 33 

ancholy ; for all this, and more, is bestowed upon the 
life of the blessed cross of Christ, by the very profes- 
sors and pretended admirers of it, in the persons of 
those who truly bear it. 

3. Where does this cross appear, and where must 
it be taken up ? 

I answer, within : that is, in the heart and soul ; 
for where the sin is, the cross must be. Now, all evil 
comes from within : this, Christ taught. " From 
within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, 
adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, 
wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blas- 
phemy, pride, foolishness : all these things come from 
within, and defile the man." 

The heart of man is the seat of sin, and where he 
is defiled, he must be sanctified ; and where sin lives, 
there it must die ; it must be crucified. Custom in 
evil hath made it natural to men to do evil ; and as 
the soul rules the body, so this corrupt nature sways 
the whole man : but still, it is all from within. 

4. Experience teaches every son and daughter of 
Adam an assent to this. The enemy's temptations 
are ever directed to the mind, which is within : if 
they take not, the soul sins not ; if they are embraced, 
lust is presently conceived, that is, inordinate desires ; 
" lust conceived, brings forth sin; and sin finished, 
that is, acted, brings forth death." Here is both the 
cause and the effect, the genealogy of sin, its rise and 
end. 

In all this, the heart of evil man is the devil's mint, 
his work-house, the place of his residence, where he 
exercises his power and art. And therefore the re- 
demption of the soul is aptly called, the destruction of 



34 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



the works of the devil, and the bringing in of ever- 
lasting righteousness. When the Jews would have 
defamed Christ's miracle of casting out devils, by a 
blasphemous imputation of it to the power of Beelze- 
bub, he says, " no man can enter into a strong man's 
house, and spoil his goods, till he first bind the strong 
man." As this shows the contrariety between Beel- 
zebub, and the power by which he dispossessed him ; 
so it teaches us to know, that the souls of the wicked 
are the devil's house, and that his goods, his evil 
works, can never be destroyed, until he that wrought 
them, and keeps the house, be bound. All this makes 
it easy to know, where the cross must be taken up, 
by which alone the strong man can be bound, his 
goods spoiled, and his temptations resisted : that is, 
within, in the heart of man. 

5. In the next place, how, and in what manner, is 
the cross to be daily borne ? 

The way, like the cross is spiritual : it is an inward 
submission of the soul to the will of God, as it is 
manifested by the light of Christ in the consciences of 
men ; though it be contrary to their own inclinations. 
For example ; when evil presents, that which shows 
the evil does also tell them, they should not yield to 
it ; and if they close with its counsel, it gives them 
power to escape it. But they that look and gaze upon 
the temptation, at last fall in with it, and are over- 
come by it ; the consequence of which is, guilt and 
judgment. Therefore, as the cross of Christ is that 
spirit and power in men, though not of men, but of 
God, which crosseth and reproveth the fleshly lusts 
and affections ; so the way of taking up the cross is, 
an entire resignation of soul to the discoveries and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



35 



requirings of it. Not to consult worldly pleasure, or 
carnal ease, or interest, for such are captivated in a 
moment, but continually to watch against the very 
appearance of evil, and, by the obedience of faith, of 
true love to, and confidence in God, cheerfully to 
offer up to the death of the cross, that evil part in 
themselves, which not enduring the heat of the siege, 
and being impatient in the hour of temptation, would, 
by its near relation to the tempter, more easily betray 
their souls into his hands. 

6. This shows to every one's experience, how hard 
it is to be a true disciple of Jesus ! The way is narrow 
indeed, and the gate very strait, where not a word, 
no, not a thought, must slip the watch, or escape 
judgment. Such circumspection, such caution, such 
patience, such constancy, such holy fear and trem- 
bling, give an easy interpretation to that hard saying, 
" flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God 
those who are captivated with fleshly lusts and affec- 
tions ; for they cannot bear the cross ; and they that 
cannot endure the cross, must never have the crown. 
To reign, it is necessary first to suffer. 



36 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



CHAPTER IV. 

1. What is the great work of the cross ? The answer to this of great 
moment. 2. The work ofthe cross is self-denial. 3. What was the 
cup and cross of Christ ? 4. What is our cup and cross ? 5. Our 
duty is to follow Christ as our captain. 6. Of the distinction upon 
self, a lawful and unlawful self. 7. What the lawful self is. 8. 
That it is to be denied in some cases by Christ's doctrine and exam- 
ple. 9. By the apostle's pattern. 10. The danger of preferring law- 
ful self above our duty to God. 11. The reward of self-denial, an 
excitement to it. 12. This doctrine as old as Abraham. 13. His 
obedience of faith memorable. 14. Job a great instance of self- 
denial; his contentment. 15. Moses also a mighty example; his 
neglect of Pharaoh's court. 16. His choice. 17. The reason of it, 
viz. the recompense of reward. 18. Isaiah, no inconsiderable in- 
stance, who, of a courtier, became an holy prophet. 19. These 
instances concluded with that of holy Daniel, his patience and inte- 
grity, and the success they had upon the king. 20. There might be 
many mentioned to confirm this blessed doctrine. 21. All must be 
left for Christ, as men would be saved. 22. The way of God is a 
way of faith and self-denial. 23. An earnest supplication and ex- 
hortation to all to attend upon these things. 

Fourthly, What is the great work and business of 
the cross respecting man ? 

1. This indeed is of such mighty moment to be 
truly, plainly and thoroughly answered, that all that 
went before seems only to serve as a preface to it ; and 
miscarrying in this, to be no less than a misguidance 
of the soul about its way to blessedness. I shall there- 
fore pursue the question, with God's help, and the best 
knowledge he hath given me, in the experience of 
several years' discipleship. 

2. The great work and business of the cross of 
Christ in man, is self-denial ; a word of much depth 
in itself, and of sore contradiction to the world ; 
little undersood ; but less embraced by it ; which yet 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



37 



must be borne. The Son of God is gone before us, 
and, by the bitter cup he drank, and the baptism he 
suffered, has left us an example that we should follow 
his steps. This made him put that hard question to 
the wife of Zebedee and her two sons, upon her soli- 
citing that one might sit at his right, and the other at 
his left hand in his kingdom. " Are ye able to drink 
of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptised 
with the baptism I am baptised with ?" It seems their 
faith was strong; they answered, "We are able." 
Upon which he replied, " Ye shall drink indeed of my 
cup, and be baptised with the baptism I am baptised 
with ;" but their reward he left to his Father. 

3. What was the cup he drank, and baptism he 
suffered ? I answer ; they were the denial and offer- 
ing up of himself by the eternal Spirit to the will of 
God, undergoing the tribulations of his life, and ago- 
nies of his death upon the cross, for man's salvation. 

What is our cup and cross that we should drink 
and suffer ? They are the denying and offering up of 
ourselves, by the same spirit, to do or suffer the will 
of God for his service and glory. This is the true life 
and obedience of the cross of Jesus ; narrow still, but 
before, an unbeaten way. When there was none to 
help, not one to open the seals, to give knowledge, or 
to direct the course of poor man's recovery, He came 
in the greatness of his love and strength ; and though 
clothed with the infirmities of a mortal man, being 
within fortified by the Almightiness of an immortal 
God, he travelled through all the straits and difficul- 
ties of humanity ; and, first of all others trod the un- 
trodden path to blessedness. 

5. come, let us follow him, the most unwearied, 
4 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

the most victorious captain of our salvation ! to whom 
all the great Alexanders and mighty Caesars of the 
world are less than the poorest soldier of their camps 
could be to them. They were all great princes of 
their kind, and conquerors too, but on very differing 
principles. Christ made himself of no reputation to 
save mankind ; but these plentifully ruined people, to 
augment theirs. They vanquished others, not them- 
selves. Christ conquered self, which always van- 
quished them. Of merit therefore, he is the most 
excellent prince and conqueror. Besides, they ad- 
vanced their empire by rapine and blood, he by suf- 
fering and persuasion ; he never by compulsion, they 
always by force prevailed. Misery and slavery -fol- 
lowed all their victories ; his brought greater freedom 
and felicity to those he overcame. In all they did, 
they sought to please themselves ; in all he did, he 
aimed to please his Father, who is God of gods, King 
of kings, and Lord of lords. 

It is this most perfect pattern of self-denial we must 
follow, if ever we will come to glory. To do this, 
let us consider self-denial in its true distinction and 
extent. 

6. There is a lawful and an unlawful self, and both 
must be denied for the sake of him, who in submission 
to the will of God counted nothing dear that he might 
save us. And though scarcely any part of the world 
has got so far as to need that lesson of the denial of 
lawful self, since every day it most greedily sacrifices 
to the pleasure of unlawful self: yet to take the whole 
thing before me, and because it may possibly meet 
with some who are so far advanced in this spiritual 
warfare, as to receive benefit from it, I shall at least 
touch upon it. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



39 



7. The lawful self which we are to deny, is that 
conveniency, ease, enjoyment and plenty, which in 
themselves are so far from being evil, that they are 
the bounty and blessings of God to us : as husband, 
wife, child, house, land, reputation, liberty and life 
itself. These are God's favours, which we may enjoy 
with lawful pleasure, and justly improve as our honest 
interest. But when God requires them, at what time 
soever, or is pleased to try our affections by our part- 
ing with them ; I say, when they are brought in com- 
petition with him, they must not be preferred, but 
denied. Christ himself descended from the glory of 
his Father, and willingly made himself of no repu- 
tation among men, that he might make us of some 
with God. From thinking it no robbery to be equal 
with God, he humbled himself to the poor form of a 
servant ; yea, to the ignominious death of the Cross, 
that he might deliver us an example of pure humility, 
and entire submission to the will of our heavenly 
Father. 

8. It is the doctrine he teaches us in these words : 
" He that loveth father or mother, son or daughter, 
more than me, is not worthy of me." Again, " Who- 
soever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, 
cannot be my disciple." He plainly told the young 
rich man, that if he would have eternal life, he must 
sell all and follow him : a doctrine sad to him, as it is 
to those who, like him, notwithstanding all their high 
pretences to religion, love their possessions more than 
Christ. This doctrine of self-denial is the condition 
to eternal happiness : " He that will come after me, 
let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow 
me," 



40 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



9. This made those honest fishermen quit their law- 
ful trades, and follow him, when he called them ; and 
others, who waited for the consolation of Israel, to 
offer up their estates, reputations, liberties, and also 
lives, to the displeasure and fury of their kindred, and 
the government they lived under, for the spiritual ad- 
vantage that accrued to them, by their faithful adher- 
ence to his holy doctrine. True, many would have 
excused themselves from following him, in the parable 
of the feast. Some had bought land, some had mar- 
ried wives, and others had bought yokes of oxen, and 
could not come ; and immoderate love of the world 
hindered them ; their lawful enjoyments, from being 
servants became their idols ; they worshipped them 
more than God, and would not quit them to come to 
God. This is recorded to their reproach ; and we 
may herein see the power of self upon the worldly 
man, and the danger that comes to him by the abuse 
of lawful things. What, thy wife dearer to thee than 
thy Saviour ! and thy land and oxen preferred before 
thy soul's salvation! beware, that thy comforts 
prove not snares first, and then curses. To over-rate 
them, is to provoke him that gave them, to take them 
away again : come and follow him that giveth life 
eternal to the soul. 

10. Woe to them that have their hearts in their 
earthly possessions ! for when they are gone, their 
heaven is gone with them. It is too much the sin of 
the greatest part of the world, that they stick in the 
comforts of it: It is lamentable to behold how their 
affections are bemired, and entangled with their con- 
veniences and accommodations in it. The true self- 
denying man is a pilgrim ; but the selfish man is an 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



41 



inhabitant of the world : The one uses it, as men do 
ships, to transport themselves, or tackle in a journey, 
that is, to get home ; the other looks no further, what- 
ever he prates, than to be fixed in fulness and ease 
here, and likes it so well, that if he could, he would 
not exchange. He will not trouble himself to think 
of the other world, till he is sure he must live no lono-- 
er in this : then alas ! it will prove too late. Not to 
Abraham, but to Dives, he must go ; the story is as 
true as sad. 

11. On the other hand, it is not for nought, that the 
disciples of Jesus deny themselves ; and indeed, 
Christ himself had the eternal joy in his eye : For the 
joy that was set before him, says the author to the 
Hebrews, he endured the cross ; that is, he denied 
himself, and bore the reproaches and death of the 
wicked ; and despised the shame, the dishonour and 
derision of the world. It made him not afraid nor 
shrink ; he contemned it ; and is set down on the 
right hand of the throne of God. To the encourage- 
ment, and great consolation of his disciples, when 
Peter asked him what they should have, who had for- 
saken all to follow him ? he answered, " Verily I say 
unto you, ye which have followed me in the regene- 
ration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of 
his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judg- 
ing the twelve tribes of Israel," that were then in 
apostacy from the life and power of godliness. This 
was the lot of his disciples, the more immediate com- 
panions of his tribulations, and first messengers of his 
kingdom. But the next that follows is to all : " And 
every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren or 
sisters, or father or mother, or wife, or children, or 
4* 



42 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred 
fold, and shall inherit everlasting life." It is this 
recompense of reward, this eternal crown of righteous- 
ness, which in every age, has raised in the souls of 
the just an holy neglect, yea, contempt of the world. 
To this is owing the constancy of the martyrs, as the 
triumph of the truth is, to their blood. 

12. Nor is this a new doctrine ; it is as old as 
Abraham. In several most remarkable instances, his 
life was made up of self-denial. First, in quitting his 
own land, w T here we may well suppose him settled in 
the midst of plenty, at least sufficiency : And why ? 
Because God called him. This should be reason 
enough ; but such is the world's degeneracy, that in 
fact it is not : and the same act, upon the same induce- 
ment, in any now, though praised in Abraham, would 
be derided. So apt are people not to understand 
what they commend ; nay, to despise those actions, 
when they meet them in the people of their own times, 
which they pretend to admire in their ancestors. 

13. But he obeyed : the consequence was that God 
gave him a mighty land. This was the first reward of 
his obedience. The next was, a son in his old age ; 
and which heightened the blessing, after it was in 
nature past the time of his wife's bearing children. 
Yet God called for his darling, their only child, the 
joy of their age, the son of a miracle, and him upon 
whom the fulfilling of the promise, made to Abraham, 
depended. For this son, God called : A trial which 
one would think, might very well have overturned 
his faith, and stumbled his integrity : or at least put 
him upon this dispute in himself : this command is 
unreasonable and cruel ; it is the tempter's, it cannot 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



43 



be God's. For, is it to be thought that God gave me 
a son to make a sacrifice of him ? That the father 
should be the butcher of his only child ? Again, that 
he should require me to offer up the son of his own 
promise, by whom his covenant is to be performed, is 
incredible. Thus Abraham might naturally enough 
have argued, to withstand the voice of God, and indulge 
his great affections to his beloved Isaac. But good 
old Abraham, who knew the voice that had promised 
him a son, had not forgotten to know it when it re- 
quired him again. He disputed not, though it looked 
strange, and perhaps with some surprise and horror, 
as a man. He had learned to believe, that God who 
gave him a child by a miracle, could work another to 
preserve or restore him. His affections could not bal- 
ance his duty, much less overcome his faith; for he 
received him in a way that would let him doubt of 
nothing that God had promised of him. 

To the voice of this Almightiness he bows, builds 
an altar, binds his only son upon it, kindles the fire, 
and stretches forth his hand to take the knife : but the 
angel stopped the stroke. "Hold, Abraham, thy 
integrity is proved." What followed ? A ram served 
for the sacrifice, and Isaac was his again. This shows 
how little serves, where all is resigned, and how mean 
a sacrifice contents the Almighty, where the heart is 
approved. It is not the sacrifice that recommends the 
heart, but the heart that gives the sacrifice acceptance. 

God often touches our best comforts, and calls for 
that which we most love, and are least willing to part 
with. Not that he always takes it utterly aw^ay, but to 
prove the souPs integrity, to caution us from excesses, 
and that w r e may remember him, the Author of those 



44 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

blessings we possess, and live loose to them. I speak 
my experience : the way to keep our enjoyments, is 
to resign them ; and though that be hard, it is sweet 
to see them returned, as Isaac was to his father, with 
more love and blessing than before. stupid world ! 
O worldly Christians ! Not only strangers, but ene- 
mies to this excellent faith ! and whilst so, you can 
never know the reward of it. 

14. Job presses hard upon Abraham : his self-denial 
also was very signal. For when the messengers of 
his afflictions came thick upon him with one doleful 
story after another, until he was left almost as naked 
as when he was born ; the first thing he did, he fell to 
the ground, and worshipped that power, and kissed 
that hand, that stripped him. So far from murmuring, 
he concludes his losses of estate and children with 
these words : " Naked came I out of my mother's 
womb, and naked shall I return : the Lord gave, and 
the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the 
Lord." O the deep faith, patience, and contentment 
of this excellent man ! one would hare thought this 
repeated news of ruin had been enough to overset his 
confidence in God : but it did not : that stayed him. 
He tells us why; his Redeemer lived. " I know (says 
he) that my Redeemer lives." And it appeared he 
did ; for he had redeemed him from the world ; his 
heart was not in his worldly comforts ; his hope lived 
above the joys of time, and troubles of mortality; not 
tempted by the one, nor shaken by the other; but 
firmly fixed, " that when after his skin worms should 
have consumed his body, yet with his eyes he should 
see God." Thus was the heart of Job both submitted 
to, and comforted in, the will of God. 



NO CRO§S, NO CROWN. 45 

15. Moses is the next great example in sacred story 
for remarkable self-denial, before the times of Christ's 
appearance in the flesh. He had been saved, when 
an infant, by an extraordinary Providence, and it seems 
by what followed, for an extraordinary service : Pha- 
raoh's daughter, whose compassion was the means of 
his preservation, when the king decreed the slaughter 
of the Hebrew males, took him for her son, and gave 
him the education of her father's court. His own 
graceful presence and extraordinary abilities, joined 
with her love for him, and interest in her father to 
promote him, must have rendered him, if not capable 
of succession, at least of being chief minister of affairs 
under that wealthy and powerful prince. For Egypt 
was then, what Athens and Rome were afterward, the 
most famous for learning, arts, and glory. 

16. But Moses, ordained for other work, and guided 
by a better star, an higher principle, no sooner came 
to years of discretion, than the impiety of Egypt, and 
the oppressions of his brethren there, grew a burden 
too heavy for him to bear. And though so wise and 
good a man could not want those generous and grate- 
ful sentiments which became the kindness of the king's 
daughter to him ; yet he had also " seen that God who 
is invisible," and did not dare to live in the ease and 
plenty of Pharaoh's house, whilst his poor brethren 
were required u to make brick without straw." 

The fear of the Almighty taking deep hold of his 
heart, he nobly refused to be called the son of Pha- 
raoh's daughter, and chose rather a life of affliction 
with the despised and oppressed Israelites, and to be 
the companion of their temptations and jeopardies, 
"than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;" 



46 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

esteeming the reproaches of Christ, which he suffered 
for making that unworldly choice, greater riches than 
all the treasures of that kingdom. 

17. Nor was he so foolish as they thought him ; he 
had reason on his side : for it is said, ££ He had an eye 
to the recompense of reward:" he did but refuse a 
lesser benefit for a greater. In this his wisdom trans- 
cended that of the Egyptians ; for they made the pre- 
sent world their choice, as uncertain as the weather, 
and so lost that which has no end. Moses looked 
deeper, and weighed the enjoyments of this life in the 
scales of eternity, and found they made no weight 
there. He governed himself, not by the immediate 
possession, but the nature and duration of the reward. 
His faith corrected his affections, and taught him to 
sacrifice the pleasure of self to the hope he had of a 
future, more excellent recompense. 

18. Isaiah was no inconsiderable instance of this 
blessed self-denial ; who, of a courtier, became a pro- 
phet, and left the worldly interests of the one, for the 
faith, patience, and sufferings of the other. His choice 
did not only lose him the favour of men ; but their 
wickedness, enraged at his integrity to God, in his 
fervent and bold reproofs of them, made a martyr of 
him in the end ; for they barbarously sawed him asun- 
der in the reign of king Manasses. Thus died that 
excellent man, commonly called the Evangelical pro- 
phet. 

19. I shall add one example more, from the fidelity 
of Daniel, an holy and wise young man, who, when 
his external advantages came in competition with his 
duty to Almighty God, relinquished them all. Instead 
of being solicitous how to secure himself, as one mind- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 47 

ing nothing less, he was, with the utmost hazard of 
himself, most careful how to preserve the honour of 
God, by fidelity to his will. And though at the first 
it exposed him to ruin, yet, as an instance of great 
encouragement to all, who, like him, choose to keep 
a good conscience in an evil time, it at last advanced 
him greatly in the world ; and the God of Daniel was 
made famous and terrible, through his perseverance, 
even in the eyes of heathen kings. 

20. What shall I say of all the rest, who, counting 
nothing dear that they might do the will of God, aban- 
doned their worldly comforts, and exposed their ease 
and safety, as often as the heavenly vision called them, 
to the wrath and malice of degenerate princes, and' an 
apostate church ? More especially Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
and-Micah, who, after they had denied themselves, in 
obedience to the divine voice, sealed up their testi- 
mony with their blood. 

Thus was self-denial the practice and glory of the 
ancients, who were predecessors to the coming of 
Christ in the flesh ; and shall we hope to go to heaven 
without it now, when our Saviour himself is become 
the most excellent example of it ? And that, not as 
some would fain have it, viz., « He for us, that we 
need not;" but for us, that we might deny ourselves, 
and so be the true followers of his blessed example. ' 

21. Whoever thou art, therefore, that wouldst do 
the will of God, but faintest in thy desires from the 
opposition of worldly considerations; remember I tell 
thee, in the name of Christ, that he who prefers father 
or mother, sister or brother, wife or child, house or 
land, reputation, honour, office, liberty, or life, before 
the testimony of the light of Jesus in his own con. 



48 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



science, shall be rejected of him, in the solemn and 
general inquest upon the world, when all shall be 
judged, and receive according to the deeds done, not 
the profession made, in this life. It is the doctrine of 
Jesus, that if thy right hand offend thee, thou must cut 
it off; and if thy right eye offend thee, thou must pluck 
it out ; that is, if the most dear, the most useful and 
tender comforts thou enjoyest, stand in thy soul's way 
and interrupt thy obedience to the voice of God, and 
thy conformity to his holy will revealed in thy soul, 
thou art engaged, under the penalty of damnation, to 
part with them. 

22. The way of God is a way of faith, as dark 
to 'sense, as it is mortal to self. The children of 
obedience, with holy Paul, count all things dross 
and dung, that they may win Christ, and know and 
walk in this narrow way. Speculation will not do, 
nor can refined notions enter it ; the obedient only eat 
the good of this land. They that do my Father's will, 
says the blessed Jesus, shall know of my doctrine ; 
them he will instruct. There is no room for instruc- 
tion, where lawful self is lord and not servant. For 
self cannot receive it ; that which should, is oppressed 
by self ; fearful, and dares not. What will my father 
or mother say ? How will my husband use me ? Or, 
what will the magistrate do with me ? For though I 
have a most powerful persuasion, and clear conviction 
upon my soul, of this or that thing, yet considering 
how unmodish it is, what enemies it has, and how 
strange and singular I shall seem to them, I hope God 
will pity my weakness, if I sink ; I am but flesh and 
blood ; it may be hereafter he will better enable me ; 
and there is time enough. Thus selfish, fearful man. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



49 



Deliberating is ever worst ; for the soul loses in 
parley : the manifestation brings power with it. Never 
did God convince people, but, upon submission, he 
empowered them. He requires nothing without ability 
to perform it : that were mocking, not saving men. It 
is enough for thee to do thy duty, that God shows thee 
thy duty ; provided thou closest with the light and 
spirit, by which he gives thee that knowledge. They 
that want power, are such as do not receive Christ in 
his convictions upon the soul ; and such will always 
want it : but such as do receive him, receive power 
also, like those of old, to become the children of God, 
through the pure obedience of faith. 

23. Wherefore, let me beseech you, by the love and 
mercy of God, by the life and death of Christ, by the 
power of his Spirit, and the hope of immortality, you 
whose hearts are established in your temporal com- 
forts, and are lovers of self more than of these hea- 
venly things, let the time past suffice : think it not 
enough to be clear of such impieties, as too many are 
found in, whilst your inordinate love of lawful things 
has defiled your enjoyment of them, and drawn your 
hearts from the fear, love, obedience, and self-denial 
of a true disciple of Jesus. Turn about, then, and 
hearken to the still voice in thy conscience ; it tells 
thee of thy sins, and of misery in them. It gives a 
lively discovery of the very vanity of the world, and 
opens to thy soul some prospect of eternity, and the 
comforts of the just who are at rest. If thou adherest 
to this, it will divorce thee from sin and self : thou 
wilt soon find, that the power of its charms exceeds 
that of the wealth, honour, and beauty of the world, 
and, finally, will give thee that tranquillity which the 

5 



50 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



storms of time can never shipwreck or disorder. Here 
all thine enjoyments are blest : though small, yet great 
by that presence which is within them. 

Even in this world the righteous have the better of 
it, for they use the world without rebuke, because they 
do not abuse it. They see and bless the hand that 
feeds and clothes, and preserves them. Beholding 
Him in all his gifts, they do not adore them, but him ; 
so the sweetness of his blessing who gives them, is an 
advantage such have over those who see him not. In 
their increase they are not lifted up, nor in their ad- 
versities are they cast down ; because they are mode- 
rated in the one, and comforted in the other, by his 
divine presence. 

In short, heaven is the throne, and the earth but the 
footstool of that man, who hath self under foot. Those 
who know that station will not easily be moved ; they 
learn to number their days, that they may not be sur- 
prised with their dissolution ; and to " redeem their 
time because the days are evil remembering that 
they are but stewards, and must deliver up their 
accounts to an impartial Judge. Therefore, not to 
self, but to him they live, and in him they die, and 
are blessed with them that die in the Lord. Thus I 
conclude my discourse of the right use of lawful self. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



51 



CHAPTER V. 

1. Of unlawful self; it is twofold ; I, in religion, 2, in morality. 2. 
Of those that are most formal, superstitious and pompous in worship. 
3. God's rebuke of carnal apprehensions. 4. Christ drew off his 
disciples from the Jewish exterior worship, and instituted a more 
spiritual one. 5. Stephen is plain and full in this matter. 6. Paul 
refers the temple of God twice to man. 7. Of the cross of these 
worldly worshippers. 8. Flesh and blood make their cross, there- 
fore cannot be crucified by it. 9. They are yokes without restraint. 
10. Of the gaudiness of their cross, and their respect to it. 11. A 
recluse life no true gospel abnegation. 12. A comparison between 
Christ's self-denial and theirs : his leads to purity in the world, theirs 
to voluntary imprisonment, that they might not be tempted of the 
world. The mischief which that example, followed, would do to 
the world. It destroys useful society and honest labour. A lazy life 
the usual refuge of idleness, poverty and guilty age. 13. Of Christ's 
cross in this case. The impossibility that such an external applica- 
tion can remove an internal cause. 14. An exhortation to the men 
of this belief, not to deceive themselves. 

1. I am now come to unlawful self, which, more or 
less, is the immediate concernment of the greater part 
of mankind. This unlawful self is twofold. First, 
That which relates to religious worship : Second, 
That which concerns moral and civil conversation in 
the world. They are both of infinite consequence to 
be considered by us. I shall be as brief as I may, 
w T ith ease to my conscience, and no injury to the mat- 
ter. 

2. That unlawful self in religion, which ought to 
be mortified by the cross of Christ, is man's invention 
and performance of worship to God, as divine, which 
is not so, either in its institution or performance. In 
this great error, those people take the lead, who attri- 
bute to themselves the name of Christians, and are 



52 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



most exterior, pompous and superstitious in their wor- 
ship. They do not only miss exceedingly, by a spir- 
itual unpreparedness, in the way of their performing 
worship to God Almighty, who is an eternal spirit ; 
but the worship itself is composed of what is utterly 
inconsistent with the very form and practice of Christ's 
doctrine, and the apostolical example. That was 
plain and spiritual, this is gaudy and worldly : Christ's 
inward and mental ; their's outward and corporeal : 
that suited to the nature of God, who is a spirit ; this 
accommodated to the carnal part. Instead of exclud- 
ing flesh and blood, behold a worship calculated to 
gratify them : as if the business were not to present 
God with a worship to please him, but to make one to 
please themselves. A worship dressed with stately 
buildings and imagery, rich furniture and garments, 
rare voices and music, costly lamps, wax candles and 
perfumes ; and all acted with the most pleasing variety 
to the external senses, that art can invent or cost pro- 
cure : as if the world were to turn Jew or Egyptian 
again ; or that God was an old man, and Christ a little 
boy, to be treated with a kind of religious masquerade, 
for so they picture him in their temples ; and too 
many in their minds. Such a worship may very well 
suit this idea of God ; for when men can think him 
such an one as themselves, it is not to be wondered, 
if they address him and entertain him in a way that 
would be most pleasing from others to themselves. 

3. But what said the Almighty to such a sensual 
people of old, upon the like occasion? " Thou 
thoughtest I was such an one as thyself, but I will 
reprove thee, and set thy sins in order before thee. 
Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



53 



in pieces, and there be none to deliver. But to him 
that ordereth his conversation aright, will I show the 
salvation of God." The worship acceptable to him 
is, "To do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with 
God." He that searcheth the heart, and tries the 
reins of man, and sets his sins in order before him, 
who is the God of the spirits of all flesh, looks not to 
the external fabric, but the internal frame of the soul, 
and inclination of the heart. Nor is it to be soberly 
thought, that he, who is " clothed with divine honour 
and majesty, who covers himself with light, as with a 
garment, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, 
who layeth the beams of his chambers in the deep, 
who maketh the clouds his chariots, and who walks 
upon the wings of the wind, who maketh his angels 
spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire, who laid the 
foundation of the earth, that it should not be moved 
forever," can be adequately worshipped by those 
human inventions, the refuge of an apostate people, 
from the primitive power of religion, and spirituality 
of Christian worship. 

4. Christ drew off his disciples from the glory and 
worship of the outward temple, and instituted a more 
inward and spiritual worship, in which he instructed 
his followers. " Ye shall neither in this mountain, 
nor yet at Jerusalem," says Christ to the Samaritan 
woman, " worship the father. God is a spirit, and 
they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and 
in truth." As if he had said: for the sake of the 
weakness of the people, God condescended, in old 
time, to limit himself to an outward time, place, tem- 
ple and service, in and by which he would be wor- 
shipped : but this was during men's ignorance of his 
5* 



54 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



omnipresence ; they considered not what God is, nor 
where he is. I am come to reveal him to as many 
as receive me. God is a spirit, and he will be wor- 
shipped in spirit and in truth. People must be ac- 
quainted with him as a spirit, consider him, and wor- 
ship him as such. It is not that bodily worship, nor 
these ceremonious services, in use among you now, 
that will serve, or give acceptance with this God who 
is a spirit. You must obey his spirit that strives with 
you, to gather you out of the evil of the world : that 
by bowing to his instructions and commands in your 
own souls, you may know what it is to worship him 
as a spirit. Then you will understand, that it is not 
going to this mountain, nor to Jerusalem, but doing 
the will of God, and keeping his commandments. 
Commune with thine own heart and sin not ; take up 
thy cross, meditate in his holy law ,and follow the 
example of him whom the Father hath sent. 

5. Stephen, that bold and constant martyr of Jesus, 
told the Jews when a prisoner at their bar for disput- 
ing about the end of their beloved temple, and its ser- 
vices, (but falsely accused of blasphemy) " Solomon 
built God an house, howbeit God dwelleth not in tem- 
ples made with hands ; as saith the prophet, heaven 
is my throne, and the earth is my footstool ; what 
house will ye build me saith the Lord, or what is the 
place of my rest ? Hath not my hand made all these 
things ?" Behold a total overthrow to all worldly 
temples, and their ceremonious appendences ! The 
martyr follows up his blow upon those apostate Jews, 
who were, of those times, the pompous, ceremonious, 
worldly worshippers : " Ye stifFnecked and uncircum- 
cised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



55 



Ghost ; as did your fathers, so do ye." As if he had 
told them, no matter for your outward temple, rites and 
shadowy services, your pretensions to succession in 
nature from Abraham, and by religion ' from Moses; 
you are resisters of the Spirit, gainsayers of its instruc- 
tions : you w T ill not bow to its counsel, nor are your 
hearts right towards God : you are the successors of 
your fathers' iniquity ; and, though verbal admirers, 
yet none of the successors of the prophets in faith and 
life. 

The prophet Isaiah carries it a little farther than is 
cited by Stephen. For, after having declared what is 
not God's house, the place where his honour dwells, 
these words immediately follow : " But to this man 
will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite 
spirit, and trembleth at my word." Behold, O carnal 
and superstitious man, the true worshipper, and the 
place of God's rest ! This is the house and temple of 
Him whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain ; an 
house self cannot build, nor the art nor power of man 
prepare or consecrate. 

6. Paul, that great apostle of the Gentiles, twice 
expressly refers the word temple to man , once in his 
first epistle to the church at Corinth: " Know ye not 
that you are the temples of the Holy Ghost, which is 
in you, which ye have of God?" &c. and not the 
building of man's hand and art. Again, he tells the 
same people, in his second epistle, " For ye are the 
temple of the living God, as God hath said ;" and 
then cites God's words by the prophet, " I will dwell 
in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their 
God, and they shall be my people." This is the evan- 
gelical temple, the Christian church, whose ornaments 



56 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



are not the embroideries and furniture of worldly art 
and wealth- but the graces of the spirit; meekness, 
love, faith, patience, self-denial and charity. Here it 
is, that the eternal Wisdom, who was with God from 
everlasting, before the hills were brought forth, or the 
mountains laid, chooses to dwell, rejoicing (says "Wis- 
dom) in the habitable part of his earth, and my de- 
lights are with the sons of men ; not in houses built of 
wood and stone. This living house is more glorious 
than Solomon's dead house ; of which his was but a 
figure, as he, the builder, was of Christ, who builds 
us up an holy temple to God. It was promised of old, 
that "the glory of the latter house should transcend 
the glory of the former ;" which may be applied to 
this ; Not that one outward temple or house should 
excel another in outward lustre ; for where is the ben- 
efit of that? But the divine glory, the beauty of holi- 
ness in the Gospel-house or church, made up of re- 
newed believers, should exceed the outward glory of 
Solomon's temple, which, in comparison of the latter 
days, was but flesh to spirit, fading resemblances to 
the eternal substance. 

But for all this, Christians have meeting-places, yet 
not in Jewish or heathen state, but plain ; void of 
pomp and ceremony ; suiting the simplicity of their 
blessed Lord's life and doctrine. For God's presence 
is not with the house, but with them that are in it, 
who are the Gospel-church, and not the house. O! 
that such as call themselves Christians, knew but a 
real sanctity in themselves, by the washing of God's 
regenerating grace, instead of that imaginary sanctity 
ascribed to places ; they would then know what the 
church is, and where, in these evangelical days, is the 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



57 



place of God's appearance. This made the prophet 
David say, " The King's daughter is all glorious with- 
in, her clothing is of wrought gold." What is the 
glory that is within the true church, and that gDld 
which makes up that inward glory ? Tell me, O super- 
stitious man ! is it thy stately temples, altars, carpets, 
tables, tapestries ; thy vestments, organs, voices, can- 
dles, lamps, censers, plate, and jewels, with the like 
furniture of thy worldly temples ? No such matter ; 
they bear no proportion wuth the divine adornment of 
the King of heaven's daughter, the blessed and re- 
deemed church of Christ. Miserable apostacy that it 
is ! and a wretched supplement for the loss and absence 
of the apostolic life, the spiritual glory of the primitive 
church. 

7. Yet some of these admirers of external pomp 
and glory in worship, would be thought lovers of the 
cross, and to that end have made to themselves many. 
But alas ! what hopes can there be of reconciling that 
to Christianity, which, the nearer it comes to its resem- 
blance, the farther off it is in reality ? For their very 
cross and self-denial are unlawful self: whilst they 
fancy to worship God thereby, they most dangerously 
err from the true cross of Christ, and that holy abne- 
gation which was of his blessed appointment. It is 
true, they have got a cross, but it seems to be in the 
room of the true one ; and so mannerly, that it will do 
as they will have it, who wear it. Instead of morti- 
fying their wills by it, they made it, and use it, accord- 
ing to them : so that the cross is become their ensign 
who do nothing but what they list. Yet by that they 
would be thought his disciples, who never did his 
own will, but the will of his heavenly Father. 



58 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

8. This is such a cross as flesh and blood can carry, 
for flesh and blood invented it ; therefore it is not the 
cross of Christ, which is to crucify flesh and blood. 
Thousands of them have no more virtue than a chip ; 
poor empty shadows, not so much as images of the 
true one. Some carry them for charms about them, 
but never repel one evil with them. They sin with 
them upon their backs ; and though they put them into 
their bosoms, their beloved lusts lie there too without 
the least disquiet. They are as dumb as Elijah's mock- 
gods, having no life nor power in them: and how 
should they whose matter is earthly, and whose figure 
and workmanship are but the invention and labour of 
worldly artists ? Is it possible that such crosses should 
mend their makers ? Surely not. 

9. These are yokes without restraint, and crosses 
that never contradict : a whole cart-load of them would 
leave a man as unmortified as they find him. Men 
may sooner knock their brains out with them, than 
their sins : and this, I fear, too many of them know 
in their very consciences who use them, indeed, 
adore them, and, which can only happen to the false 
cross, are proud of them too, since the true one leaves 
no pride where it is truly borne. 

10. For as their religion, so their cross, is very 
gaudy and triumphant : but in what ? In precious 
metals and gems, the spoil of superstition upon the 
people's pockets. These crosses are made of earthly 
treasure, instead of teaching the hearts of those who 
wear them, to deny it: and like them, they are re- 
spected for their finery. A rich cross shall have 
many gazers and admirers : the mean, in this, as other 
things, are more neglected. I could appeal to them- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



50 



selves of this great vanity and superstition. Oh ! how 
very short is this of the blessed cross of Jesus, that 
takes away the sins of the world ! 

11. Nor is a recluse life, the boasted righteousness 
of some, much more commendable, or one whit nearer 
to the nature of the true cross : for if it be not unlaw- 
ful as other things are, it is unnatural, which true 
religion teaches not. The Christian convent and mo- 
nastery are within, where the soul is encloistered from 
sin. And this religious house the true followers of 
Christ carry about with them, who exempt not them- 
selves from the conversation of the World, though they 
keep themselves from the evil of the world in their 
conversation. That is a lazy, rusty, unprofitable self- 
denial, burdensome to others, to feed their idleness ; 
religious bedlams, where people are kept up, lest they 
should do mischief abroad ; patience per force ; self- 
denial against their will, rather ignorant than virtuous ; 
and out of the way of temptation, than constant in it. 
No thanks if they commit not what they are not tempt- 
ed to commit. What the eye views not, the heart 
craves not, as well as rues not. 

12. The cross of Christ is of another nature. It 
truly overcomes the world, and leads a life of purity 
in the face of its allurements. They that bear it are 
not thus chained up, for fear they should bite ; nor 
locked up, lest they should be stolen away. They 
receive power from Christ, their captain, to resist the 
evil, and do that which is good in the sight of God ; 
to despise the world, and love its reproach above its 
praise : and not to offend others, but even to love 
those who offend them, though not for offending them. 
What a world should we have, if every body, for fear 



60 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



of transgressing, should mew himself up within four 
walls ! No such matter ; the perfection of the Chris- 
tian life extends to every honest labour or traffic used 
among men. This severity is not the effect of Christ's 
free spirit, but a voluntary, fleshly humility ; mere 
trammels of their own making and putting on, without 
prescription or reason. 

In all which, it is plain, they are their own law- 
givers, and set their own rule, mulct and ransom : a 
constrained harshness, out of joint to the rest of the 
creation : for society is one great end of it, and not to 
be destroyed for fear of evil ; but sin that spoils it 
banished, by steady reproof, and a conspicuous exam- 
ple of tried virtue. True godliness does not turn men 
out of the world, but enables them to live better in it ; 
and excites their endeavours to mend it : " not to hide 
their candle under a bushel, but to set it upon a table, 
in a candlestick." Besides, it is a selfish invention; 
and that can never be the way of taking up the cross, 
which the true cross is taken up to subject. Again, 
this humour runs away by itself, and leaves the world 
behind to be lost. Christians should keep the helm, 
and guide the vessel to its port ; not meanly steal out 
at the stern of the world, and leave those that are in 
it without a pilot, to be driven by the fury of evil times 
upon the rock or sand of ruin. This sort of life, if 
taken up by young people, is commonly to cover idle- 
ness, or to pay portions ; to save the lazy from the 
pain of punishment, or quality from the disgrace of 
poverty : one will not work, and the other scorns it. 
If taken up by the aged, a long life of guilt sometimes 
flies to superstition for refuge ; and, after having had 
its own will in other things, would finish it with a 
wilful religion to make God amends. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



61 



13. Taking up the cross of Jesus is a more interior 
exercise : it is the circumspection and discipline of 
the soul, in conformity to the divine mind therein 
revealed. Does not the body follow the soul, and not 
the soul the body? Consider, that no outward cell 
can shut up the soul from lust, or the mind from an 
infinity of unrighteous imaginations ! The thoughts of 
man's heart are evil, and that continually. Evil comes 
from within, and not from without : how then can an 
external application remove an internal cause ; or a 
restraint upon the body work a confinement of the 
mind ? Less even than without doors ; for where there 
is least of action, there is most time to think ; and if 
those thoughts are not guided by a higher principle, 
convents are more mischievous to the world than ex- 
changes. And yet retirement is both an excellent 
and needful thing : crowds and throngs were not much 
frequented by the ancient holy pilgrims. 

14. Examine, O man, thy foundation, what it is, 
and who placed thee there ; lest in the end it should 
appear, thou hast put an eternal cheat upon thy own 
soul. I must confess I am jealous of the salvation of 
my own kind. Having found mercy with my heavenly 
Father, I would have none deceive themselves to per- 
dition, especially about religion, where people are most 
apt to take all for granted, and lose infinitely by their 
own flatteries and neglect. The inward steady right- 
eousness of Jesus is another thing, than all the con- 
trived devotion of poor superstitious man ; and to 
stand approved in the sight of God, excels that bodily 
exercise in religion resulting from the invention of men. 
The soul that is awakened and preserved by his holy 
power and spirit, lives to him in the way of his own 

6 



62 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



institution, and worships him in his own spirit, that 
is, in the holy sense, life, and leadings of it ; which 
indeed is the evangelical worship. Not that I would 
be thought to slight a true retirement : for I do not 
only acknowledge, but admire solitude. Christ him- 
self was an example of it : he loved and chose to fre- 
quent mountains, gardens, sea-sides. It is requisite 
to the growth of piety ; and I reverence the virtue that 
seeks and uses it ; wishing there were more of it in 
the world : but then it should be free, not constrained. 
What benefit to the mind, to have it for a punishment, 
and not a pleasure ? Nay, I have long thought it an 
error among all sorts, that use not monastic lives, that 
they have no retreats for the afflicted, the tempted, the 
solitary, and the devout; where they might undis- 
turbedly wait upon God, pass through their religious 
exercises, and, being thereby strengthened, might, 
with more power over their own spirits, enter into the 
business of the world again ; though the less the better, 
to be sure. For divine pleasures are found in a free 
solitude. 



CHAPTER VI. 

1. But men of more refined belief and practice are yet concerned in 
this unlawful self about religion. 2. It is the rise of the perform- 
ance of worship God regards. 3. True worship is only from an 
heart prepared by God's spirit. 4. The soul of man is dead, without 
the divine breath of life, and so not capable of worshipping the living 
God. 5. We are not to study what to pray for. How Christians 
should pray : The aid they have from God. 6. The way of obtain- 
ing this preparation: it is by waiting, as David and others did of 
old, in holy silence, that their wants and supplies are best seen. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



63 



7. The whole and the full think they need not this waiting-, and so 
use it not: but the poor in spirit are of another mind; wherefore 
the Lord hears and fills them with his good things. 8. If there were 
not this preparation, the Jewish times would have been more holy 
and spiritual than the Gospel^ for even then it was required, and 
much more now. 9. As sin, so formality cannot worship God: thus 
David, Isaiah, &c. 10. God's own forms and institutions hateful to 
him, unless his own spirit use them; much more those of man's 
contriving. 11. God's children ever met God in his way, not their 
own; and in his way they always found help and comfort. In Jere- 
miah's time, it was the same; his goodness was manifest to his chil- 
dren that waited truly upon him : it was an inward sense and enjoy- 
ment of him they thirsted after. Christ charged his disciples also 
to wait for the Spirit. 12. This doctrine of waiting farther opened, 
and ended with an allusion to the pool of Bethesda ; a lively figure 
of inward waiting, and its blessed effects. 13. Four things neces- 
sary to worship; the sanctification of the worshipper, and the conse- 
cration of the offering, and the thing to be prayed for; and lastly, 
faith to pray in: and all must be right, that is of God's giving. 14. 
The great power of faith in prayer; witness the importunate widow. 
The wicked and formal ask, and receive not; the reason why. But 
Jacob and his true offspring, the followers of his faith, prevail. 15. 
This shows why Christ upbraided his disciples with their little faith. 
The necessity of faith. Christ works no good on men without it. 
3 6. This faith is not only possible now, but necessary. 17. What it 
is, farther unfolded. 18. Who the heirs of this faith are; and what 
were the noble works of it in the former ages of the just. 

1. There are others, of a more refined speculation 
and reformed practice, who dare not use, much less 
adore, a piece of wood or stone, an image of silver or 
gold ; nor yet allow of that Jewish, or rather Pagan 
pomp in worship, practised by others, as if Christ's 
worship were of this world, though his kingdom be 
of the other. They are doctrinally averse to such 
superstition, and yet refrain not to bow to their own 
religious duties, and esteem their formal performance 
of several parts of worship which go against the grain 
of their fleshly ease, and a preciseness therein, no small 



64 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



cross unto them. If they abstain from gross and scan- 
dalous sins, or, if the act be not committed, though 
the thoughts of it are embraced, so that it has a full 
career in the mind, they hold themselves safe enough, 
within the pale of discipleship and wall of Christianity. 
But this also is too mean a character of the discipline 
of Christ's cross : and those who flatter themselves 
with such a taking of it up, will, in the end, be de- 
ceived with a sandy foundation, and a midnight cry. 
For, said Christ, " I say unto you, that every idle word 
that men shall speak, they shall give an account there- 
of in the day of judgment." 

2. It is not performing duties of religion, but the 
rise of the performance that God looks at. Men may, 
and some do, cross their own wills, in their own wills : 
voluntary omission, or commission. " Who has re- 
quired this at your hands ?" said the Lord of old to 
the Jews, when they seemed industrious to have 
served him ; but it was in a way of their own con- 
triving or inventing, and in their own time and will ; 
not with the soul truly touched and prepared by the 
divine power of God ; but bodily worship only, which, 
the apostle tells us, proflteth little. Not keeping to 
the manner of taking up the cross in worship, as well 
as other things, has been a great cause of the trouble- 
some superstition that is yet in the world. For men 
have no more brought their- worship to the test, than 
their sins ; nay, less ; for they have ignorantly thought 
the one a sort of excuse for the other ; and not that 
their religious performances should need a cross, or 
an apology. 

3. True worship can only come from an heart pre- 
pared by the Lord, This preparation is by the sane- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 65 

tification of the Spirit ; by which, if God's children 
are led in the general course of their lives, as Paul 
teaches, much more in their worship to their Creator 
and Redeemer. And whatever prayer be made, or 
doctrine be uttered, and not from the preparation of 
the Holy Spirit, it is not acceptable with God ; nor 
can it be the true evangelical worship, which is in 
spirit and truth ; that is, by the preparation and aid of 
the Spirit. For what is an heap of the most pathetical 
words to God Almighty; or the dedication of any 
place or time to him ? He is a spirit, to whom words, 
places, and times, strictly considered, are improper or 
inadequate. Though they be the instruments of public 
worship, they are but bodily and visible, and cannot 
carry our requests any further, much less recommend 
them to the invisible God. They are for the sake of 
the congregation : it is the language of the soul God 
hears ; nor can that speak, but by the Spirit ; or groan 
aright to Almighty God, without the assistance of it. 

4. The soul of man, however lively in other things, 
is dead to God, until he breathe the spirit of life into it : 
it cannot live to him, much less worship him, without 
it. Thus God by Ezekiel tells us, in a vision, of the 
restoration of mankind, in the person of Israel, an 
usual way of speaking among the prophets, and as 
often mistaken, " I will open your graves and put my 
spirit in you, and ye shall live." So, though Christ 
taught his disciples to pray, they were, in some sort, 
disciples before he taught them ; not worldly men, 
whose prayers are an abomination to God. And his 
teaching them, is not an argument that every one must 
say that prayer, whether he can say it with the same 
heart, and under the same qualifications, as his poor 
6* 



66 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



disciples and followers did, or not, as is now too super- 
stitiously and presumptuously practised. But rather, 
that as they then, so we now, are not to pray our own 
prayers, but his ; that is, such as he enables us to 
make, as he enabled them then. 

5. If we are not to take thought what we shall say 
when we come before worldly princes, because it shall 
then be given us ; and if it is not we who speak, but 
the Spirit of our heavenly Father that speaketh in us ; 
much less can our ability be needed, or ought we to 
study to ourselves forms of speech in our approaches 
to the great Prince of princes, King of kings, and Lord 
of lords. For if we consider his greatness, we ought 
not by Christ's command : or our relation to him, as 
children, we need not : he will help us, he is our 
father ; that is, if he be so indeed. Thus, not only 
the mouth of the body, but of the soul is shut, till God 
opens it ; and then he loves to hear the language of 
it. The body ought never to go before the soul in 
prayer : his ear is open to such requests, and his Spirit 
strongly intercedes for those that offer them. 

6. But it may be asked, how shall this preparation 
be obtained ? 

I answer ; by waiting patiently, yet watchfully and 
intently, upon God : " Lord," says the Psalmist, " thou 
hast heard the desire of the humble ; thou wilt prepare 
their heart; thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:" and, 
says Wisdom, " the preparation of the heart in man is 
from the Lord. " Thou must not think thy own thoughts, 
nor speak thy own words, which indeed is the silence 
of the holy cross, but be sequestered from all the con- 
fused imaginations that are apt to throng and press 
upon the mind in those holy retirements. Think not 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



67 



to overcome the Almighty by the most composed mat- 
ter cast into the aptest phrase : No, one groan, one 
sigh, from a wounded soul, an heart touched with true 
remorse, a sincere and godly sorrow, which is the work 
of God's Spirit, excels and prevails with God. Where- 
fore, stand still in thy mind, wait to feel something 
divine, to prepare and dispose thee to worship God 
truly and acceptably. Thus taking up the cross, and 
shutting the doors and windows of the soul against 
everything that would interrupt this attendance upon 
God, how pleasant soever the object be in itself, or 
however lawful or needful at another season, the power 
of the Almighty will break in, his Spirit will prepare 
the heart, that it may offer up an acceptable sacrifice. 
It is he that discovers to the soul its wants, and presses 
them upon it ; and when it cries, he alone can supply 
them. Petitions, not springing from such a sense and 
preparation, are formal and fictitious ; they are not 
true : for men pray in their own blind desires, and not 
in the will of God ; and his ear is stopped to them. 
But for the very sighing of the poor, and crying of the 
needy, God has said he will arise ; for the poor in 
spirit, the needy souls, those that want his assistance, 
who are ready to be overwhelmed, that feel their need, 
and cry aloud for a deliverer ; who have none on earth 
to help, " none in heaven but him, nor in the earth in 
comparison of him. He will deliver (said David) the 
needy, when he cries, and the poor, and him that has 
no helper. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and 
violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and 
saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the 
Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

delivers them." He then invites all to come and 
taste how good the Lord is. Yea, " He will bless 
them that fear the Lord, both small and great." 

7. But what is this, to them that are not hungry ? 
The whole need not the physician : the full have no 
need to sigh, nor the rich to cry for help. Those who 
are not sensible of their inward wants, that have no 
fears and terrors upon them, who feel no need of 
God's power to help them, nor the light of his counte- 
nance to comfort them ; what have such to do with 
prayer ? Their devotion is, at best, but a serious mock- 
ery of the Almighty. They know not, they want not, 
they desire not, what they pray for. They pray that 
the will of God may be done, and do constantly their 
own ; for, though it be soon said, it is a most terrible 
thing to them. They ask for grace and abuse what 
they have : they pray for the spirit, but resist it in 
themselves, and scorn at it in others : they request the 
mercies and goodness of God, and feel no real want 
of them. In this inward insensibility, they are as 
unable to praise God for what they have, as to pray 
for what they have not. " They shall praise the Lord 
that seek him : for he satisfieth the longing soul, and 
filleth the hungry with good things." This also is 
reserved for the poor and needy, and those that fear 
God. " Let the [spiritually] poor and the needy praise 
thy name : ye that fear the Lord, praise him ; and ye 
seed of Jacob, glorify him." Jacob was a plain man, 
of an upright heart ; and they that are such are his 
seed. And though, with him, they may be as poor as 
worms in their own eyes, yet they receive power to 
wrestle with God, and prevail as he did. 

8. Without the preparation and consecration of this 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



69 



power, no man is fit to come before God ; else it were 
matter of less holiness and reverence to worship God 
under the Gospel, than it was in the times of the law, 
when all sacrifices were sprinkled, before they were 
offered ; the people consecrated that offered them, ere 
they presented themselves before the Lord. If the 
touching of a dead or unclean beast then, made peo- 
ple unfit for the temple or sacrifice, yea, for society 
with the clean, until first sprinkled and sanctified, how 
can we think so meanly of the worship instituted by 
Christ in Gospel-times, as that it should admit of un- 
prepared and unsanctified offerings ? or allow that 
those who either in thoughts, words, or deeds, daily 
touch that which is morally unclean, can, without 
coming to the blood of Jesus, that sprinkles the con- 
science from dead works, acceptably worship the pure 
God ? It is a downright contradiction to good sense : 
the unclean cannot acceptably worship that which is 
holy ; the impure that which is perfect. There is an 
holy intercourse and communion betwixt Christ and 
his followers ; but none at all betwixt Christ and 
Belial ; between him and those who disobey his com- 
mandments, and live not the life of his blessed cross 
and self-denial. 

9. But as sin, so formality cannot worship God ; 
though the manner were of his own ordination. This 
made the prophet, personating one in a great strait, 
cry out, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, 
and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come 
before him with burnt-offerings ? with calves of a year 
old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of 
rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I 
give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my 



70 



NO CROSS, NO CROAVN. 



body for the sin of my soul ? He hath showed thee, 
O man, what is good. And what doth the Lord re- 
quire of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to 
walk humbly with thy God?" The royal prophet, 
sensible of this, calls thus upon God : " Lord, open 
thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy 
praise." He did not dare to open his own lips, he 
knew that could not praise God : " For thou desirest 
not sacrifice, else would I give it :" if my formal offer- 
ings would serve, thou shouldst not want them ; " thou 
delightest not in burnt- offerings. The sacrifices of 
God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, 
O God, thou wilt not despise." And why ? Because 
this is God's work, the effect of his power ; and his 
own works praise him. To the same purpose God 
himself speaks, by the mouth of Isaiah, in opposition 
to the formalities and lip-worship of the degenerate 
Jews. " Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, 
and the earth is my foot-stool, where is the house that 
ye build to me, and where is the place of my rest ? 
for all these things hath my hand made. But to this 
man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a 
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." 

Behold the true worshipper ! one of God's preparing, 
circumcised in heart and ear, that resists not the Holy 
Spirit, as those lofty professing Jew T s did. If this was 
so then, even in the time of the law, which was the 
dispensation of external and shadowy performances ; 
can we expect acceptance without the preparation of 
the Spirit of the Lord, in these Gospel-days, which is 
the proper time for the effusion of the Spirit ? By no 
means : God is what he was ; and none are his true 
worshippers, but such as worship him in his own spi- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 71 

rit : of these he is tender as the apple of his eye : the 
rest do but mock him, and he despises them. Hear 
what follows to that people, for it is the state of Chris- 
tendom in this day : " He that killeth an ox, is as if 
he slew a man ; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he 
cut off a dog's neck ; he that offereth an oblation, as 
if he offered swine's blood ; he that burneth incense, 
as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their 
own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abomina- 
tions." Let none say, we offer not these kinds of obla- 
tions, for that is not the matter. God was not offend- 
ed with the offerings, but offerers. These were the 
legal forms of sacrifice appointed by God; but 
they not presenting them in that frame of spirit, and 
under that disposition of soul that was required, God 
declares his abhorrence, and that with great aggrava- 
tion. Elsewhere, by the same prophet, he bids them 
to " bring no more vain oblations before him: incense 
is an abomination to me : your sabbaths and calling of 
assemblies, I cannot away with ; it is iniquity ; even 
the solemn meeting. And when you spread forth your 
hands, I will hide mine eyes from you ; when you 
make many prayers, I will not hear you." A most 
terrible denunciation of their worship. And why? 
Because their hearts were polluted, that they loved not 
the Lord with their whole hearts, but broke his law, 
rebelled against his spirit, and did not that which was 
right in his sight. The cause is plain,— by the amend- 
ments he requires : " Wash you, make you clean, put 
away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes : 
cease to do evil, learn to do well : seek judgment, re- 
lieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for 
the widow." Upon these terms, and nothing less, he 



72 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



bids them come to him, and tells them, that though 
their " sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow ; 
and though they be as crimson, they shall be white as 
wool." 

So true is that notable passage of the Psalmist : 
" Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will de- 
clare what he hath done for my soul : I cried to him 
w T ith my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. 
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear 
me. But verily God hath heard me, he hath attended 
to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God which 
hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from 
me." 

10. Much might be cited, to show the displeasure 
of God against even his own forms of worship, when 
performed without his spirit, and that necessary prepa- 
ration of the heart in man, which nothing elsecan work 
or give. Above all other penmen of sacred writ, this 
is most frequently and emphatically recommended to 
us by the example of the Psalmist, who, ever and 
anon calling to mind his own great slips, and the 
cause of them, and the way by which he came to be 
accepted of God, and obtain strength and comfort from 
him, reminds himself to wait upon God. " Lead me 
in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my 
salvation; on thee do I wait all the day long." His 
soul looked to God for salvation, to be delivered from 
the snares and evils of the world. This shows an 
inward exercise, a spiritual attendance, that stood not 
in external forms, but on inward divine aid. 

And truly, David had great encouragement so to 
do ; the goodness of God invited him to it, and 
strengthened him in it, u For," says he, " I waited 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



73 



patiently upon the Lord, and he inclined unto me, 
and heard my cry. He brought me out of the miry 
clay, and set my feet upon a rock." The Lord ap- 
peared inwardly to console David's soul, that waited 
for his help, and to deliver it from the temptations and 
afflictions that were ready to overwhelm it, and gave 
him security and peace. Therefore he says, " The 
Lord hath established my going;" that is, fixed his 
mind in righteousness. Before, every step he took 
bemired him, and he was scarce able to go without 
falling. Temptations assailed him on all hands ; but 
he waited patiently upon God ; his mind retired, 
watchful and intent to his law and spirit ; and he felt 
the Lord incline to him. His needy and sensible cry 
entered heaven, and prevailed ; then came rescue and 
deliverance, (in God's time, not David's,) strength to 
go through his exercises, and surmount all his troubles. 
For which he tells us, " a new song was put into his 
mouth, even praise to our God." It was a song of 
God's making and putting, and not his own. 

Another time, we have him crying thus : "As the 
hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul 
after thee, God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the 
living God ; when shall I come and appear before 
him ?" This goes beyond formality, and can be tied 
to no lesson. We may by this see that true worship 
is an inward work ; that the soul must be touched and 
raised in heavenly desires, by the heavenly spirit, and 
that the true worship is in God's presence. " When 
shall I come and appear ?" Not in the temple, nor 
with outward sacrifices, but before God, in his pre- 
sence. The souls of true worshippers see God,, make 
their appearance before him ; and for this they wait, 

7 



74 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

they pant, they thirst. O how is the greater part of 
Christendom degenerated from David's example ! No 
wonder that this good man tells us, " truly my soul 
waiteth upon God ;" and that he gives it in charge to 
his soul so to do ; " my soul, wait thou upon God ; 
for my expectation is from him." As if he said, none 
else can prepare my heart, or supply my wants ; so 
that my expectation is not from my own voluntary per- 
formances, or the bodily worship I can give him ; 
they are of no value : they can neither help me, nor 
please him. But I wait upon him for strength and 
power to present myself so before him, as may be most 
pleasing to him ; for he that prepares the sacrifice, will, 
certainly accept it. In two verses he repeats it thrice, 
" I wait for the Lord — My soul doth wait — My soul 
waiteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for 
the morning." Yea, so intently, and with such un- 
weariedness of soul, that he says in one place, " Mine 
eyes fail, while I wait for my God." He was not 
contented with so many prayers, such a set worship, 
or a limited repetition. He leaves not till he finds the 
Lord and the comforts of his presence ; which bring 
the answer of love and peace to his soul. 

Nor was this his practice only, as a man more than 
ordinarily inspired : for he speaks of it as the way of 
worship amongst the true people of God, the spiritual 
Israel, the circumcision in heart, of that day. " Be- 
hold as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their 
masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of 
her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, 
until he have mercy upon us." In another place, 
" Our soul waiteth for the Lord, he is our help and 
shield. I will wait upon thy name, for it is good be- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



75 



fore thy saints." It was in request with the truly 
godly of that day, and the way by which they came to 
enjoy God, and worship him acceptably. From his 
own experience of the benefit of waiting upon God, 
and the saints' practice of those times, he recommends 
it to others : " Wait upon the Lord, be of good cou- 
rage, and he shall strengthen thy heart : wait, I say, 
upon the Lord." Wait in faith and patience, and he 
will come to save thee. Again, " Rest in the Lord, 
and wait patiently upon him :" cast thyself upon him ; 
be contented ; and wait for him to help thee in thy 
wants : thou canst not think how near he is to help 
those that wait upon him : try, and have faith ! Yet 
again, he bids us, " wait upon the Lord, and keep his 
way." Behold the reason so few profit ! they are out 
of his way, and such can never w T ait rightly upon him. 
Great reason had David for what he said, who had 
with so much comfort and advantage met the Lord in 
his blessed way. 

11. The prophet Isaiah tells us, that though the 
chastisements of the Lord were sore upon the people 
for their backslidings, yet in the way of his judgments, 
in the way of his rebukes and displeasure, they waited 
for him, and the desire of their soul (that is the great 
point) was to his name, and the remembrance of him. 
They were contented to be chid and chastised, for 
they had sinned ; and the knowledge of him in this way 
was very desirable to them. But, did he not come at 
last, and that in mercy too ? Yes, he did, and they 
knew him when he came, a doctrine the brutish world 
knows not. " Lo, this is our God, we have waited 
for him, and he will save us." blessed enjoyment ! 
O precious confidence. Here was a waiting in faith 
which prevailed. 



76 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



All worship, not in faith, is fruitless to the worship- 
per, as well as displeasing to God : This faith is the 
gift of God, and the nature of it is to purify the heart, 
and give such as truly believe " victory over the 
world." But they go on : " We have waited for him, 
w r e will be glad, and rejoice in his salvation." The 
prophet adds, " Blessed are all they that wait upon 
God :" and why ? " For they that wait upon the Lord, 
shall renew their strength ; they shall never faint, 
never be weary:" The encouragement is great. O 
hear him once more ! For since the beginning of the 
world, men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, 
neither hath the eye seen, O God ! besides thee, what 
he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him." Be- 
hold the inward life and joy of the righteous, the true 
worshippers ! those whose spirits bowed to the appear- 
ance of God's spirit in them, leaving and forsaking all 
that it appeared against, and embracing whatever it led 
them to. 

In Jeremiah's time, the true worshippers also waited 
upon God ; and he assures us, " That the Lord is 
good to them that w T ait for him, to the soul that seek- 
eth him." Hence it is that the prophet Hosea exhorts 
the church to turn and wait upon God : " Therefore turn 
thou to thy God ; keep mercy and judgment, and wait 
on thy God continually.'" Micah is very zealous and 
resolute in this good exercise : "I will look unto the 
Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation : my God 
will hear me." Thus did the children of the spirit, 
w T ho thirsted after an inward sense of him. The 
wicked cannot say so ; nor they that pray, unless they 
w r ait. It is charged upon Israel in the wilderness, as 
the cause of their disobedince and ingratitude to God, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



77 



that they " waited not for his counsels:" We may be 
sure it is our duty, and expected from us ; for God 
requires it in Zephaniah : " Therefore wait upon me, 
saith the Lord, until the day that I arise," &c. O 
that all who profess the name of God, would so wait, 
and not offer to arise to worship without him! and 
they would feel his stirrings and arisings in them, to 
help, and prepare and sanctify them. Christ expressly 
charged his disciples, that they should not stir from 
Jerusalem, but wait till they had received the promise 
of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, in order 
to prepare them for preaching the glorious gospel of 
Christ to the world. And though that was an extra- 
ordinary effusion for an extraordinary work, yet the 
degree does not change the kind. On the contrary, if 
so much waiting and preparation by the spirit was 
requisite to fit them to preach to man ; some, at least, 
may be needful to fit us to speak to God. 

12. I will close this great Scripture doctrine of 
waiting, with that passage in John, about the pool of 
Bethesda. " There is at Jerusalem, by the sheep- 
market, a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue 
Bethesda, having five porches ; in these lay a great 
number of impotent folk, of blind, halt, and withered, 
waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel 
went down at a certain season into the pool, and 
troubled the water : whosoever then first, after the 
troubling of the water, stepped in, was made whole of 
whatsoever disease he had." This is a most exact re- 
presentation of what is intended by all that has been 
said upon the subject of waiting. For as there was 
then an outward and legal, so there is now a Gospel 
and spiritual Jerusalem, the church of God, consisting 
7* 



78 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



of the faithful. The pool, in Old Jerusalem, in some 
sort, represented that fountain, which is now set open 
in the New Jerusalem. That pool, was for those who 
were under infirmities of body ; this fountain is for all 
that are impotent in soul. There was an angel then 
that moved the water to render it beneficial ; it is 
God's angel now, the great angel of his presence, that 
blesseth this fountain with success. They who went 
in before, and did not w^atch the angel, and take ad- 
vantage of his motion, found no benefit of their step- 
ping in. Those now who wait not for the moving of 
God's angel, but by a devotion of their own forming 
and timing, rush before God as the horse into the bat- 
tle, and hope for success, are sure to miscarry in their 
expectations. 

Therefore, as then, they that wanted and desired 
to be cured, waited with all patience and intentness 
upon the angel's motion ; so do the true worshippers 
of God now, who need and pray for his presence, 
which is the life of their souls, as the sun is to the 
plants of the field. They have often tried the unpro- 
fitableness of their own work, and are now come to 
the sabbath indeed. They dare not put up a device 
of their own, or offer an unsanctified request, much 
less obtrude bodily worship, where the soul is really 
insensible or unprepared by the Lord. In the light of 
Jesus they wait to be prepared, retired and recluse 
from all thoughts that cause the least distraction and 
discomposure in the mind, till they see the angel move, 
and till their Beloved please to awake ; nor dare they 
call him before his time. They fear to make a devo- 
tion in his absence ; for they know it is not only un- 
profitable, but reprovable : " Who has required this 
at your hands ?" " He that believes makes not haste." 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



79 



They that worship with their own, can only do as 
the Israelites, turn their ear rings into a molten image, 
and be cursed far their pains. Nor fared they better, 
who gathered sticks of old, and kindled a fire, and 
compassed themselves about with the sparks that they 
had kindled ; for God told them, " they should lie 
down in sorrow." It should not only be of no ad- 
vantage, and. do them no good, but incur a judg- 
ment from him : sorrow and anguish of soul shall be 
their portion. Alas ! flesh and blood would fain pray, 
though it cannot wait; and be a saint, though 
it cannot abide to do or suffer the will of God. 
With the tongue it blesses God, and with the tongue 
it curses men made in his similitude. It calls Jesus 
Lord, but not by the Holy Ghost ; and often names 
the name of Jesus, yea, bows the knee to it too, but 
departs not from iniquity ; this is abominable to God, 
13. There are four things so necessary to worship- 
ping God aright, and which put its performance be- 
yond man's power, that there seems little more needed 
than the naming of them. The first is, the sanctifica- 
tion.of the worshipper. Secondly, the consecration of 
the offering, which has been spoken to before some- 
what largely. Thirdly, what to pray for, which no 
man knows, that prays not by the aid of God's spirit ; 
and, therefore, without that spirit no man can truly 
pray. This the apostle puts beyond dispute ; " We 
know not," says he, " what we should pray for, as 
we ought, but the Spirit helpeth our infirmities." Men 
unacquainted with the work and power of the Holy 
Spirit, are ignorant of the mind of God ; and those, 
certainly, can never please him with their prayers. It 



80 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



is not enough to know we are in want ; but we should 
learn, whether it be not sent us as a blessing ; dis- 
appointments to the proud ; losses to the covetous, 
and to the negligent stripes : to remove these, were 
to secure the destruction, not help the salvation of the 
soul. 

The vile world knows nothing, but carnally, after 
a fleshly manner and interpretation ; and too many, 
who would be thought enlightened, are apt to call 
providences by wrong names. For instance, afflic- 
tions they style judgments ; and trials, more precious 
than the beloved gold, they call miseries. On the 
other hand, they call preferments of the world by the 
name of honour, and its wealth happiness ; when for 
once that they are so, it is much to be feared they are 
sent of God an hundred times for judgments, at least 
trials, upon their possessors. Therefore, what to keep, 
what to reject, what to want, is a difficulty God only 
can resolve the soul. And since God knows, better 
than we, what we need, he can better tell us what to 
ask, than we can him. This made Christ exhort his 
disciples to avoid long and repetitious prayers ; telling 
them, that their heavenly Father knew what they 
needed, before they asked : He therefore gave them a 
pattern to pray by ; not as some fancy, to be a text to 
human liturgies, which of all services are most justly 
noted and taxed for length and repetition; but ex- 
pressly to reprove and avoid them. 

If those wants that are the subject of prayer, were 
once agreed upon (though that might be a weighty 
point) yet how to pray is still of greater moment than 
to pray ; it is not the request, but the frame of the pe- 
titioner's spirit. The what may be proper, but the how 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 81 

defective. As I said, God needs not be told of our wants 
by us ; he must tell them to us ; vet he will be told 
them from us, both that we may seek him, and that he 
may come down to us. But when this is done, To 
this " man will I look, saith the Lord, even to him 
that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth 
at my word :" To the sick heart, the wounded soul, 
the hungry and thirsty, the weary and heavy-laden 
ones ; such sincerely want an helper. 

14. Nor is this sufficient to complete Gospel wor- 
ship ; the fourth requisite must be had, and • that is 
faith, true faith, precious faith; the faith of God's 
chosen, that purifies their hearts, overcomes the world, 
and is the victory of the saints. This is that which 
animates prayer and presses it home, like the impor- 
tunate widow, who would not be denied. Or she to 
whom Christ said, " woman, great is thy faith." 
This is of the highest moment on our part, to give our 
addresses success with God. Yet it is not in our 
power, for it is the gift of God : from him we must 
have it ; and with one grain of it more work is done, 
more deliverance is wrought, and more goodness and 
mercy received, than by all the runnings, willings, and 
toilings of man, with his inventions and bodily exer- 
cises. This duly weighed, will easily show why so 
much worship brings so little profit to the world, as 
we see it does, viz., True faith is lost. They ask, and 
receive not ; they seek, and find not ; they knock, and 
it is not opened unto them. The case is plain : their 
requests are not mixed with purifying faith, by which 
they should prevail, as good Jacob when he wrestled 
with God and prevailed. The truth is, the generality 
are yet in their sins, following their hearts' lusts, and 



82 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



living in worldly pleasures, being strangers to this 
precious faith. The reason rendered by the deep 
author of the epistle to the Hebrews, of the unprofit- 
ableness of the word preached to some of those days, 
is, its " not being mixed with faith in them that heard 
it." Can the minister then preach without faith ? No : 
and much less can any man pray to purpose without 
faith, especially when we are told, " That the just live 
by faith." For worship is the supreme act of man's 
life ; and whatever is necessary to inferior acts of reli- 
gion, must not be wanting there. 

15. This may moderate the wonder in any why 
Christ so often upbraided his disciples with, " O ye 
of little faith !" Yet he tells us that one grain of it, 
though as little as that of mustard, one of the least of 
seeds, if true and right, is able to remove mountains. 
As if he had said, there is no temptation so powerful 
that it cannot supply : Therefore those who are capti- 
vated by temptations, and remain unsupplied in their 
spiritual wants, have not this powerful faith : that is 
the true cause. So necessary was it of old, that Christ 
did not many mighty works where the people believed 
not ; and though his power wrought wonders in other 
places, faith opened the way : so that it is hard to say, 
whether that power by faith, or faith by that power, 
wrought the cure. Let us call to mind what famous 
things a little clay and spittle, one touch of the hem 
of Christ's garment, and a few words out of his mouth 
did, by the force of faith in the patients. " Believe 
ye that I am able to open your eyes ?" Yea, Lord, 
said the blind, and they saw. To the ruler, " only 
believe ;" he did, and his dead daughter recovered 
life. Again, " If thou canst believe I do believe, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



83 



says the father, help my unbelief ; and the evil spirit 
was chased away, and the child recovered. He said 
to one, " Go, thy faith has made thee whole ;" and to 
another, " Thy faith has saved thee ; thy sins are for- 
given thee." And to encourage his disciples to be- 
lieve, when they were admiring how soon his sentence 
was executed upon the fruitless fig-tree, he tells them, 
" Verily, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not 
only do this, which is done to the fig-tree ; but also, 
if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed 
and cast into the sea, it shall be done ; and all things 
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall 
receive." This one passage convicts Christendom of 
gross infidelity ; for she prays, and receives not. 

16. But some may say, it is impossible to receive 
all that a man may ask. It is not impossible to receive 
all that a man, that so believes, can ask. The fruits 
of faith are not impossible to those who truly believe 
in God, who makes them possible. When Jesus said 
to the ruler, " If thou canst believe," he adds, " all 
things are possible to him that believeth." But some 
will say, it is impossible to have such faith. This 
very faithless generation would excuse their want of 
faith by making it impossible to have #ie faith they 
want. But Christ's answer to the infidelity of that age, 
will best confute the disbelief of this. <£ The things 
that are impossible with men, are possible with God." 
It will follow, then, that it is not impossible with God 
to give that faith; though, it is certain, that " without 
it, it is impossible to please God ;" for so the author 
to the Hebrews teaches. And if it be impossible to 
please God, it must be so to pray to God, without this 
precious faith. 



84 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



17. But some may say, What is this faith, that is so 
necessary to worship, and that gives it such accept- 
ance with God, and returns that benefit to men ? I 
say, it is an holy resignation to God, and confidence 
in him, testified by a religious obedience to his holy 
requirings, which gives sure evidence to the soul of 
the things not yet seen, and a general sense and taste 
of the substance of those things that are hoped for ; 
that is, the glory which is to be revealed hereafter. As 
this faith is the gift of God, so it purifies the hearts of 
those that receive it. The apostle Paul is witness, 
that it will not dwell but in a pure conscience : he 
therefore, in one place, couples a pure heart and faith 
unfeigned together ; in another, faith and a good con- 
science. James joins faith with righteousness, and 
John with victory over the world : " This," says he, 
" is the victory which overcomes the world, even your 
faith." 

18. The heirs of this faith are the true children of 
Abraham, though the uncircumcision in the flesh, for 
they walk in the steps of Abraham, according to the 
obedience of faith, which only entitles people to be 
the children of Abraham. This lives above the world, 
not only in ifi sin, but righteousness, to which no man 
comes, but through death to self, by the cross of Jesus, 
and an entire dependence, by him, upon God. 

Famous are the exploits of this divine gift: time 
would fail to recount them : all sacred story is filled with 
them. But let it suffice, that by it the holy ancients 
endured all trials, overcame all enemies, prevailed with 
God, renowned his truth, finished their testimony, and 
obtained the reward of the faithful, a crown of right- 
eousness, which is the eternal blessedness of the just. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



85 



CHAPTER VII. 

1. Of pride, the first capital lust, its rise. 2. Its definition and dis- 
tinction. 3. That an inordinate desire of knowledge in Adam, in- 
troduced man's misery. 4. He thereby lost his integrity. 5. Who 
are in Adam's state. 6. Knowledge puffs up. 7. The evil effects 
of false, and the benefit of true knowledge. 8. Cain's example a 
proof in the case. 9. The Jews' pride in pretending to be wiser 
than Moses, God's servant, in setting their post by God's post. 10. 
The effect of which was the persecution of the true prophets. 11. 
The divine knowledge of Christ brought peace on earth. 12. Of the 
blind guides the priests, and the mischief they have done. 13. The 
fall of Christians, and the pride they have taken in it, hath exceeded 
the Jews: under the profession of their new-moulded Christianity, 
they have murdered the witness of the Lord Jesus. 14. The angels 
sung peace on earth, at the birth of the Lord of meekness and hu- 
mility; but the pride of the Pharisees withstood and calumniated 
him. 15. As Adam and the Jews lost themselves by their ambition, 
so the Christians, losing the fear of God, grew creed and worship- 
makers, with this injunction, conform or burn. 16. The evil effects 
of this in Christendom (so called). 17. The way of recovery out of 
bucIi miserable defection. 

1. Having thus discharged my conscience against 
that part of unlawful self, that would be a Christian, 
a believer, a saint, whilst a plain stranger to the cross 
of Christ, and the holy exercises of it ; and briefly 
discovered what is true worship, and the use and busi- 
ness of the holy cross therein, to render its perform- 
ance pleasing to Almighty God ; I shall now, the same 
Lord assisting me, more largely prosecute that other 
part of unlawful self, which fills the study, care, and 
conversation of the world, presented to .us in these 
three capital lusts, that is to say : 

Pride, avarice, and luxury ; from whence all other 
mischiefs daily flow, as streams from their proper 
fountains. The mortifying of these makes up the 

8 



86 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



other, and indeed a very great part of the work of the 
true cross ; and though last in place, yet it is first in 
experience and duty. It introduces, in the room of 
those evil habits, the blessed effects of that so-much- 
needed reformation, to wit, " mortification, humility, 
temperance, love, patience, and heavenly-minded- 
ness," with all other graces of the spirit, becoming 
the followers of the perfect Jesus, that most heavenly 
Man. 

The care and love of all mankind are either direct- 
ed to God or themselves. Those that love God above 
all, are ever humbling self to his commands, and only 
love self in subserviency to him who is Lord of all. 
But those who are declined from that love to God, are 
lovers of themselves, more than God : for supreme 
love must centre in one of these two. To that inor- 
dinate self-love, the apostle rightly joins pride and 
high-mindedness. For no sooner had the angels de- 
clined their love, duty, and reverence to God, than 
they inordinately loved and valued themselves ; which 
made them exceed their station, and aspire above the 
order of their creation. This was their pride, and this 
sad defection their dismal fall ; who are reserved in 
chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day 
of God. 

2. Pride, that pernicious evil, began the misery of 
mankind : a most mischievous quality ; and so com- 
monly known by its motions and sad effects, that every 
unmodified breast carries its definition in it. Pride 
is an excess of self-love, joined with an undervaluing 
of others, and a desire of dominion over them : the 
most troublesome thing in the world. There are four 
things by which it hath made itself best known to 



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87 



mankind, the consequences of which have brought an 
equal misery to its evil. The first is, an inordinate 
pursuit of knowledge. The second, an ambitious 
seeking and craving after power. The third, an ex- 
treme desire of personal respect and deference. The 
last excess is that of worldly furniture and ornaments. 
To the just and true witness of the eternal God, placed 
in the souls of all people, I appeal as to the truth of 
these things. 

3. To the first, it is plain that an inordinate desire of 
knowledge introduced man's misery, and brought an 
universal lapse from the glory of his primitive state. 
Adam would needs be wiser than God had made 
him. It did not serve his turn to know his Creator, 
and give him that holy homage to which his being 
and innocency naturally engaged and excited him ; 
nor to have an " understanding above all the beasts 
of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the 
sea joined with a power to rule over all the visible 
creation of God. He must be as wise as God too. 
This unwarrantable search, and as foolish as unjust 
ambition, made him unworthy of the blessings he re- 
ceived from God. This drove him out of paradise ; 
and instead of being lord of the whole world, Adam 
became the most wretched vagabond of the earth. 

4. A sad change ! that instead of being as gods, 
they should fall below the very beasts ; in comparison 
of whom even God had made them as gods. The 
lamentable consequence of this great defection has 
been, an exchange of innocency for guilt, and a para- 
dise for a wilderness. But which is yet worse, in this 
state Adam and Eve had got another god than the 
only true and living God. He that enticed them to 



88 



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all this mischief, furnished them with a vain know- 
ledge and pernicious wisdom ; the skill of lies, equi- 
vocations, shifts, evasions and excuses. They lost 
their plainness and sincerity ; and from an upright 
heart, the image in which God had made man, he 
became a crooked, twining, twisting serpent; the 
image of that unrighteous spirit, to whose temptations 
he yielded up his obedience and his paradisical hap- 
piness. 

5. Nor is this limited to Adam ; for all who have 
fallen short of the glory of God, are right-born sons of 
his disobedience. They, like him, have eaten of what 
has been forbidden : they have " committed the things 
they ought not to have done, and left undone the 
things they ought to have done." They have sinned 
against that divine light of knowledge, which God 
has given them, they have grieved his spirit ; and that 
dismal sentence has been executed, " In the day that 
thou eatest thereof thou shalt die." That is, when 
thou doest the thing which thou oughtest not to do, 
thou shalt no . more live in my favour, and enjoy the 
comforts of the peace of my spirit. This is a dying to 
all those innocent and holy desires and affections with 
which God created man ; and he becomes as one cold 
and benumbed, insensible of the love of God, of his 
Holy Spirit, power and wisdom ; of the light and joy 
of his countenance ; of the evidence of a good con- 
science, and the co-witnessing and approbation of 
God's Holy Spirit. 

6. Fallen Adam's knowledge of God stood no more 
in a daily experience of the love and work of God in 
his soul, but in a notion of what he once knew and 
experienced. This being not the true and living wis- 



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89 



dom that is from above, but a mere picture, it cannot 
preserve man in purity ; but puffs up, makes people 
proud, high-minded and impatient of contradiction. 
This was the state of the apostate Jews before 
Christ came ; and it has been the condition of apos- 
tate Christians ever since he came. Their religion 
stands, some bodily performances excepted, either in 
what they once knew of the work of God in them- 
selves, and which they have revolted from; or in an 
historical belief, and an imaginary conception and 
paraphrase upon the experiences and prophecies of 
such holy men and women of God, as in all ages have 
deserved the style and character of his true children. 

7. As such a knowledge of God cannot be true, so 
by experience we find that it ever brings forth quite 
contrary fruits to the true wisdom. For as this is first 
pure, then peaceable, then gentle, and easy to be en- 
treated ; so the knowledge of degenerated and unmor- 
tified men is first impure. For it came by the com- 
mission of evil, and is held in an evil and impure con- 
science and heart which disobey God's law, and daily 
do those things they ought not to do ; and for which 
they stand condemned before God's judgment seat in 
the souls of men ; the light of whose presence searches 
the most hidden things of darkness, the most secret 
thoughts, and concealed inclinations of ungodly men. 
This is the science, falsely so called ; and as it is im- 
pure, so it is unpeaceable, cross, and hard to be en- 
treated; forward, perverse and persecuting; jealous 
that any should be better than they, and hating and 
abusing those that are. 

8. It was this pride made Cain a murderer; it is a 
spiteful quality ; full of envy and revenge. What ! 

8* 



90 



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was not his religion and worship as good as his 
brother's ? He had all the exterior parts of worship : 
he offered as well as Abel ; and the offering in itself 
might be as good : but it seems that the heart that 
offered it was not. So long ago did God regard the 
interior worship of the soul. What was the conse- 
quence of this difference ? Cain's pride could not 
bear to be outdone by his brother. He grew wrath- 
ful, and resolved to vindicate his offering, by reveng- 
ing the refusal of it upon his brother's life ; and with- 
out any regard to natural affection, or the low and 
early condition of mankind, he barbarously dyed his 
hands in his brother's blood. 

9. The religion of the apostatized Jews did no 
better ; for, having lost the inward life, power and 
spirit of the law, they were puffed up with the know- 
ledge they had ; and their pretences to Abraham, 
Moses, and the promises of God, in that frame, served 
only to blow them up to an insufferable pride, arro- 
gance and cruelty. They could not bear true vision, 
when it came to visit them, and entertained the mes- 
sengers of their peace as if they had been wolves and 
tigers. 

10. It is remarkable, that false prophets, the great 
engineers against the true ones, were ever sure to per- 
secute them as false ; and by their interest with earth- 
ly princes, or the poor seduced multitude, made them 
the instruments of their malice. Thus it was that one 
holy prophet was sawn asunder, and another stoned to 
death, &c. So proud and obstinate are false know- 
ledge, and the aspirers after it ; which made holy 
Stephen cry out, " Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised 
in heart and* ear, ye resist the Holy Ghost; as your 
fathers did, so do ye." 



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91 



11. The true knowledge came with the joy of an- 
gels, singing " peace on earth, and good will towards 
men the false knowledge entertained the message 
with calumnies : Christ must needs be an impostor ; 
and this must prove him so, to wit, his power of work- 
ing miracles ; which yet proved the contrary. They 
stoned him, and frequently sought to kill him ; and at 
last they wickedly accomplished it. But what was 
their motive to it ? Because he cried out against their 

o 

hypocrisy, the broad phylacteries, the honour they 
sought of men. To be short, they give the reason 
themselves in these words ; "If we let him thus alone, 
all men will believe on him ;" he will take away our 
credit with the people ; they will adhere to him, and 
desert us : and so we shall lose our power and repu- 
tation with the multitude. 

12. The truth is, he came to level their honour, to 
overthrow their rabbiship, and by his grace to bring 
the people to that inward knowledge of God, which 
they, by transgression, were departed from ! that so 
they might see the deceitfulness of their blind guides, 
who by their vain traditions, had made void the right- 
eousness of the law ; and who were so far from being 
the true doctors and lively expounders of it, that in 
reality they were the children of the devil, who was a 
proud liar and cruel murderer, from the beginning. 

13. Their pride in false knowledge having made 
them incapable of receiving the simplicity of the Gos- 
pel, Christ thanks his Father, that he had hid the mys- 
teries of it from the wise and prudent, and revealed 
them to babes. This false wisdom swelled the minds 
of the Athenians to that degree, that they despised the 
preaching of the apostle Paul, as a vain and foolish 



VZ NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

thing. But that apostle, who of all the rest had an 
education in the learning of those times, bitterly re- 
flects on the wisdom, so much valued by Jews and 
Greeks : " Where," says he, " is the wise? where is 
the scribe ? where is the disputer of this world ? Hath 
not God made foolish the wisdom of this world ?" 
And he gives a good reason for it, " that no flesh 
should glory in his presence." Which is to say, God 
will stain the pride of man in false knowledge, that he 
should have nothing to be proud of: it should be 
owing only to the revelation of the Spirit of God. 
The apostle goes farther, and affirms " that the world 
by wisdom knew not God:" that is, it was so far~ 
from an help, that it was an hinderance to the true 
knowledge of God. And in his first epistle to his 
beloved Timothy, he concludes thus : " Timothy ! 
keep that which is committed to thy trust • avoiding 
profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science, 
falsely so called." This was the sense of apostolical 
times, when this divine grace gave the true knowledge 
of God, and was the guide of Christians. 

14. But what has been the success of those ages 
that followed the apostolical? Is it any better than 
that of the Jewish times ? Not one jot. They have 
exceededthem in their pretences to greater knowledge, 
and also in their degeneracy from the true Christian 
life. F or though they had a more excellent pattern 
than the Jews, to whom God spoke by Moses his ser- 
vant, He, speaking to them by his beloved Son, the 
express image of his substance, the perfection of all 
meekness and humility ; and though they seemed ad- 
dicted to nothing more, than an adoration of his name, 
and a veneration to the memory of his blessed disciples 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



93 



and apostles ; yet so great was their defection from 
the inward power and life of Christianity in the soul, 
that their respect was little more than formal and cer- 
emonious. Notwithstanding they, like the Jews, were 
zealous in garnishing their sepulchres, and curious in 
carving their images ; not only keeping what might 
be the relics of their persons, but recommending a 
thousand things as relics which are purely fabulous, 
and very often ridiculous, as well as altogether un- 
christian ; yet, as to the great and weighty things of . 
the Christian law, viz., love, meekness and self-denial, 
they were degenerated ; they grew high-minded, proud, 
boasters, without natural affection, curious and contro- 
versial ; ever perplexing the church with doubtful 
questions ; filling people with disputations, strife and 
wrangling, drawing them into parties, and at last they 
fell into blood : as if they had been the worse for being 
once Christians. 

the miserable state of these pretended Christians ! 
w T ho instead of Christ's and his apostle's doctrine, of 
loving enemies, and blessing them that curse them, 
teach the people, under the notion of Christian zeal, 
most inhumanly to butcher one another ; and, instead 
of suffering their own blood to be shed for the testi- 
mony of Jesus, they shed the blood of the witnesses 
of Jesus as heretics. Thus that subtle serpent, or 
crafty evil-spirit, that tempted Adam out of innocency, 
and the Jews from the law of God, has beguiled the 
Christians, by lying vanities, to depart from the Chris- 
tian law of holiness, and so they are become slaves 
to him ; for he rules in the hearts of the children of 
disobedience. 

15, It is observable, that as pride, which is ever 



y 4 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

followed by superstition and obstinacy, put Adam 
upon seeking an higher station than God placed him 
in ; and as the Jews, out of the same pride, in order 
to outdo their pattern, given them of God by Moses 
upon the mount, set their post by God's post, and 
taught for doctrines their own traditions, insomuch 
that those who refused conformity to them, ran the 
hazard of crucifixion : so nominal Christians, from the 
same sin of pride, with great superstition and arro- 
gance, hare introduced, instead of a spiritual worship 
and discipline, that which is evidently ceremonious 
and worldly ; with such innovations and traditions of 
men, as are the fruit of the wisdom that is from be- 
low : witness their numerous and perplexed councils 
and creeds, with, " conform, or burn," at the end of 
them. 

16. And as this unwarrantable pride set them first 
at work, to pervert the spirituality of Christian wor- 
ship, making it rather to resemble the shadowy reli- 
gion of the Jews, and the gaudy worship of the 
Egyptians, than the plainness and simplicity of the 
Christian institution, which is neither to resemble that 
of the mountain, nor the other of Jerusalem ; so has 
the same pride and arrogancy spurred them on, by all 
imaginable cruelties, to maintain this great Diana. V No 
meek supplications, nor humble remonstrances, of 
those that keep close to primitive purity in worship 
and doctrine, could prevail with these nominal Chris- 
tians, to dispense with the imposition of their unapos- 
tolical traditions. But as the ministers and bishops 
of these degenerate Christians left their painful visita- 
tion and care over Christ's flock, and grew ambitious, 
covetous, and luxurious, resembling rather worldly 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



95 



potentates, than the humble-spirited and mortified fol- 
lowers of the blessed Jesus : so almost every history 
tells us, with what pride and cruelty, blood and butch- 
ery, and unusual and exquisite tortures, they have 
persecuted the holy members of Christ, out of the 
world ; upon such anathemas, that, as far as they 
could, they have disappointed them of the blessings 
of heaven too. These, true Christians call martyrs : 
but the clergy, like the persecuting Jews, have styled 
them blasphemers and heretics ; in which they have 
fulfilled the prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ. He 
did not say that they should think they did the gods 
service to kill the Christians, his dear followers, which 
might refer to the persecutions of the idolatrous Gen- 
tiles, but that they should think they did God good 
service to kill them : which shows, that they should 
be such as professedly owned the true God, as the 
apostate Christians have all along pretended to do. 
So they must be those wolves, that the apostle foretold 
should arise among themselves, and worry the flock of 
Christ, after the great falling away should commence, 
that was foretold by him, as necessary, in order to the 
proving of the faithful, and the revelation of the great 
mystery of iniquity. 

I shall conclude this head with the assertion, that 
it is an undeniable truth, where the clergy has been 
most in power and authority, and has had the greatest 
influence upon princes and states, there have been 
most confusions, wrangles, bloodshed, sequestrations, 
imprisonments and exiles ; to justify which, I call the 
testimony of the records of all times. How it is in 
our age, I leave to the experience of the living: yet 
here is one demonstration that can hardly fail us : the 



96 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



people are not converted, but debauched to a degree 
that time will not furnish us an example. The wor- 
ship of Christendom is visible, ceremonious, and 
gaudy ; the clergy ambitious of worldly preferments, 
under the pretence of spiritual promotions; making 
the earthly revenues of church-men, much the reason 
of their function : being almost ever sure, to leave a 
smaller incumbence, to solicit and obtain benefices of 
larger title and income. So that with their pride and 
avarice, which the apostle Peter foresaw would be 
their snares, they have drawn after them, ignorance, 
misery and irreligion upon Christendom. 

17. The way of recovery from this miserable de- 
fection is, to come to a saving knowledge of religion ; 
that is, an experience of the divine work of God in 
the soul; to obtain which, be diligent to obey the 
grace that appears in thy own soul, O man ! This 
brings salvation, it turns thee out of the broad way, 
into the narrow way ; from thy lusts to thy duty, from 
sin to holiness, from satan to God. Thou must see 
and abhor self, thou must watch, and pray, and fast : 
thou must not look at thy tempter, but at thy Preserv- 
er : avoid ill company, retire to thy solitudes, and be 
a chaste pilgrim in this evil world ; and thus thou wilt 
arrive at the knowledge of God and Christ, that brings 
eternal life to the soul f a well grounded assurance 
from what a man feels and knows within himself: 
such shall not be moved with evil tidings. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



97' 



CHAPTER VIII. 

I. Pride craves power as well as knowledge. 2. The case of Korah, 
&c, a proof. 3. Absalom's ambition confirms it. 4. Nebuchadnez- 
zar's does the like. 5. The history of Pisistratus, Alexander, Caesar, 
&c, shows the same thing. 6. The Turks are a lively proof, who 
have shed much blood to gratify pride for power. 7. The last ten 
years in Christendom exceed in proof of this. 8. Ambition rests 
not in courts; it finds room in private breasts too, and spoils families 
and societies. 9. Their peace is great, who limit their desire by 
God's grace, and having power, use it to the good of others. 

1. Let us now see the next most common, eminent, 
and mischievous effect of this evil. Pride does ex- 
tremely crave power, than which, nothing has proved 
more troublesome and destructive to mankind. I need 
not labour myself much in evidence of this, since 
most of the wars of nations depopulation of kingdoms, 
ruin of cities, with the slavery and misery that have 
followed, both our own experience and unquestionable 
histories acquaint us, to have been the effect of ambi- 
tion, which is the lust of pride after power. 

2. How specious soever might be the pretences 
of Korah, Dathan and Abiram against Moses, it was 
their emulation of his mighty power in the camp of 
Israel, that put them upon conspiracies and mutinies. 
They longed for his authority, and their not having it, 
was his crime : for they had a mind to be the heads 
and leaders of the people. The consequence of which 
was, a remarkable destruction to themselves, and all 
their unhappy accomplices. 

3. Absalom too was for the people's rights, against 
the tyranny of his father and his king ; at least, with 
this pretence he palliated his ambition. But his re- 

9 



98 



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bellion showed that he was impatient for power : and 
resolved to sacrifice his duty, as son and subject, to 
the importunities of his restless pride, which brought 
a miserable death to himself, and an extraordinary 
slaughter upon his army. 

4. Nebuchadnezzar is a lively instance of the ex- 
cessive lust of pride for power. His successes and 
empire were too great for him : so much too strong 
for his understanding that he forgot he did not make 
himself, or that his power had a superior. He makes 
an image, and all must bow to it, or be burnt. And 
when Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego refused to 
comply, " Who (says he) is that God that shall deliver 
you out of my hands?" Notwithstanding the convic- 
tions he had upon him, at the constancy of those ex- 
cellent men, and Daniel's interpretation of his dreams, 
is was not long before the pride of his power had filled 
his heart, and then his mouth, with this haughty ques- 
tion, " Is not this great Babylon that I have built, for 
the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, 
and for the honour of my majesty ?" But we are told, 
that while the words were in his mouth, a voice from 
heaven rebuked the pride of his spirit, and he was 
driven from the society of men, to graze among the 
beasts of the field. 

5. If we look into the histories of the world, we 
shall find many instances to prove the mischief of this 
lust of pride. I will mention a few of them for their 
sakes, who have either not read or not considered 
them. 

Solon made Athens free by his excellent constitution 
of laws : but the ambition of Pisistratus began the 
ruin of it before his eyes. Alexander, not contented 



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99 



with his own kingdom, invaded others, and filled with 
spoil and slaughter the countries which he subdued : 
and it was well said by one whom Alexander accused 
of piracy, that Alexander was himself the greatest 
pirate in the world. It was the same ambition that 
made Caesar turn traitor to his masters, and with their 
own army, put into his hand for their service, subdue 
them to his yoke, and usurp the government ; which 
ended in the expulsion of freedom and virtue together 
from that commonwealth. Goodness quickly grew to 
be faction in Rome ; and that sobriety and wisdom, 
which had rendered her senators venerable, became 
dangerous to their safety : insomuch that his succes- 
sors hardly left one they did not kill or banish ; unless 
such as turned to be flatterers of their unjust acquisi- 
tions, and the imitators of their debauched manners. 

6. The . Turks are a proof of the point in hand ; who, 
to extend their dominion, have been the cause of shed- 
ding much blood, and laying waste many stately coun- 
tries. And yet they are to be outdone by apostate 
Christians ? whose practice is the more condemnable, 
because they have been better taught : they have had 
a Master of another doctrine and example. It is true 
they call him Lord still, but let their ambition reign : 
they love power more than one another ? and to get 
it, kill one another ; though charged by him, not to 
strive, but to love and serve each other. What adds 
to the tragedy is, that natural affection is sacrificed to 
the fury of this lust : and therefore are stories so often 
stained with the murder of parents, children, uncles, 
nephews, masters, &c. 

7. If we look abroad into remoter parts of the 
world, we shall rarely hear of wars ; but in Christen- 



100 



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dom, rarely of peace. A very trifle is too often made 
a ground of quarrel here : nor can any league be so 
sacred or inviolable, that arts shall not be used to 
evade and dissolve it, to increase dominion. No 
matter who, nor how many are slain, or made widows 
and orphans, or lose their estates and livelihoods ; what 
countries are ruined ; what towns and cities spoiled ; 
if by all these things the ambitious can but arrive at 
their ends. To go no farther back than sixty years, 
that little period of time will furnish us with many 
wars, begun upon ill grounds, and ended in desolation. 
Nay, the last twelve years of our time, make as preg- 
nant a demonstration, as we can furnish ourselves with 
from the records of any age. It is too tedious, nor is 
it my business to be particular : It has been often well 
observed by others, and is almost known to all ; I 
mean the French, Spanish, German, English and 
Dutch wars. 

8. But ambition does not only dwell in courts and 
senates : it is natural to every private breast to strain 
for power. We daily see how much men labour with 
their utmost wit and interest to be great, to get higher 
places, or greater titles than they have, that they may 
look bigger, and be more acknowledged : take place 
of their former equals, and so equal those who were 
once their superiors ; compel friends, and be revenged 
on enemies. This makes Christianity so little loved 
by worldly men, its kingdom is not of this world : And 
though they may speak well of it, it is the world they 
love ; that without uncharitableness we may truly say, 
people profess Christianity, but they follow the world. 
They are not for seeking the kingdom of heaven first, 
and the righteousness thereof, and to trust God with 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



101 



the rest ; but for securing to themselves the wealth 
and glory of this world, and adjourning the care of 
salvation to a sick-bed, and the extreme moments of 
life ; if yet they believe in a life to come. 

9. To conclude this head; great is their peace, who 
know a limit to their ambitious minds, have learned 
to be contented with the appointments and bounds of 
Providence ; and are not careful to be great, but being 
great, are humble and good. Such keep their wits 
with their consciences, and with an even mind, can at 
all times measure the uneven world, rest fixed in the 
midst of all its uncertainties, and, as becomes those 
who have an interest in a better inheritance, in the 
good time and will of God, cheerfully leave this ; 
when the ambitious, conscious of their evil practices, 
and weighed down to their graves with guilt, must go 
to a tribunal, which they can neither awe nor bribe. 



CHAPTER IX. 

1. The third evil effect of pride is the love of honour and respect. Too 
many are guilty of it. 2. It had like to have cost Mordecai dear. 
Great mischief has befallen nations on this account. 3. The world 
is out in the business of true honour, as well as in that of true science. 
4. Reasons why the author, and the rest of the people he walks with, 
use not these fashions. 5. The first is, the sense they had in the 
hour of their conviction, of the unsuitableness of them to the Chris- 
tian spirit and practice, and that the root they came from was pride 
and self-love. 6. Reproach could not move them from that sense 
and practice accordingly. 7. They do it not to make sects or for 
distinction. 8. Nor yet to countenance formality, but passively let 
drop vain customs, and so are negative to forms. 9. Their beha- 
viour is a test upon the world. 10. And this cross to the world a 

9* 



102 



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test upon them. 1 1. The second reason against them is their empti- 
ness. 12. Honour in Scripture, is not so taken as it is in the world. 
It is used for obedience. 13. It is used for preferment. 14. A di- 
gression about folly in a Scripture sense. 15. Honour is used for 
reputation. 16. Honour is also attributed to functions and capaci- 
ties, by way of esteem. 17. Honour is taken for help and counte- 
nance of inferiors. 18. Honour is used for service and esteem to all 
slates and capacities : honour all men. 19. Yet there is a limitation 
in a sense to the righteous by the Psalmist; to honour the godly, 
and contemn the wicked. 20. Little of this honour found in the 
world's fashions. 2i. The third reason against them is, they mock 
and cheat people of the honour due to them. 22. The author and 
his friends are for true honour. 23. The fourth reason is, that if the 
fashions carried true honour in them, the debauched could honour 
men, winch cannot be. 24. The fifth reason is, that then men of spite, 
hypocrisy and revenge, could pay honour, which is impossible. 25. 
The sixth reason is drawn from the antiquity of true honour. 26,, 
The seventh reason is from the rise of the vain honour, and the 
teachers of it, wherein the clown, upon a comparison, excels the 
courtier for a man of breeding. 27. The eighth reason against these 
honours is, that they may be had for money, which true honour 
cannot be. 28. The ninth and last reason is, because the Holy 
Scripture expressly forbids them to true Christians. 29. As in the 
case of Mordecai. 30. A passage between a bishop and the author 
in this matter. 31. Likewise the case of Elihu in Job. 32. Also 
the doctrine of Christ to his disciples. 33. Paul against conforming 
to the world's fashions. 34. Peter against fashioning ourselves 
according to the world's lusts. 36. James against respect to per- 
sons. 36. Yet Christians are civil and mannerly in a right way. 
37. But unlike the world in the nature of it, and motives to it. 38. 
Testimonies in favour of our dissent and practice. 

* 

,1. The third evil effect of pride is, an excessive 
desire of personal honour and respect. 

Pride loves power, that she might have homage, 
and that everyone may give her honour : and such as 
are wanting in this, expose themselves to her anger 
and revenge. As pride, so this evil effect, is more or 
less diffused through corrupt mankind ; and has been 
the occasion of great animosity and mischief in the 
world. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



103 



2. We have a remarkable instance in holy writ, of 
what malice and revenge the heart of proud man is 
capable, when not gratified in this particular. It 
almost cost Mordecai his neck, and the whole people 
of the Jews their lives, because he would not bow 
himself to Haman, who was a great favourite to king 
eAhasuerus. And the practice of the world, even in 
*)ur age, will tells us, that not striking a flag or sail ; 
and not saluting certain ports or garrisons ; yea, less 
things, have given rise to mighty wars between states 
and kingdoms, to the expense of much treasure and 
more blood. The like has followed about the prece- 
dency of princes, and their ambassadors. What envy, 
quarrels and mischiefs, have happened among private 
persons, upon conceit that they have not been respect- 
ed according to their degree of quality among men, 
with hat, knee or title ; even duels and murders not a 
few. In France* I was myself once set upon about 
eleven at night, as I was walking to my lodging, by 
a person who way-laid me, with his naked sword in 
his hand, and demanded satisfaction of me, for taking 
no notice of him at a time when he civilly saluted me 
with his hat ; though the truth was, I saw him not 
when he did it. Suppose he would have killed me, 
for he made several passes at me, or I in my defence 
had killed him, when I disarmed him, (as the earl of 
Crawford's servant who was by saw,) I ask any man 
of understanding or conscience, if the whole round of 
ceremony were worth the life of a man, considering 
the dignity of his nature, and the importance of his 
life, both with respect to God his Creator, himself, and 
the benefit of civil society ? 

* Which was before I professed the communion I am now of. 



104 



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3. But the truth is, the world, under its degeneracy 
from God, is as much out of the way, as to true honour 
and respect, as in other things ; for mere shows, and 
those vain ones too, are much of the honour and re- 
spect expressed in the world. A man may say con- 
cerning them, as the apostle speaks of science, that 
is, they are honours and respects, " falsely so called,"- 
having nothing of the nature of true honour and re- 
spect in them ; so pride only loves and seeks them, 
and is affronted and angry for want of them. Did 
men know a true Christian state, and the honour that 
comes from above, which Jesus teaches, they would 
not covet these vanities, much less insist upon them. 

4. And here give me leave to set down the reason 
more particularly, why I, and the people with whom I 
walk in religious society, have declined, as vain and 
foolish, several worldly customs- and fashions of re- 
spect, much in request at this time of day. I beseech 
thee, reader, to lay aside all prejudice and scorn, and 
with the meekness and inquiry of a sober and discreet 
mind, read and weigh what may be alleged in our de- 
fence ; and if we are mistaken, rather pity and inform, 
than despise and abuse our simplicity. 

5. The first and most pressing motive upon our 
spirits, to decline the practice of these customs of pull- 
ing off the hat, bowing the body or knee, and giving 
people gaudy titles and epithets, in our salutations and 
addresses, was, that sight and sense, which God, by 
his light and spirit, has given us of the Christian 
world's apostacy from God, and the cause and .effects 
of that great and lamentable defection. In the dis- 
covery of this, the sense of our state came first before 
us, and we were made to see him whom we pierced, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



105 



and to mourn for it. A day of humiliation overtook 
us, and we fainted to that pleasure and delight we 
once loved. Now our works went beforehand to 
judgment, a thorough search was made, and the words 
of the prophet became well understood by us : " Who 
can abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand 
when he appears ? He is like a refiner's fire, and like 
fuller's soap." And, as the apostle said, " If the 
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly 
and the sinner appear?" "Wherefore," says the 
apostle Paul, " knowing the terrors of the Lord, we 
persuade men:" to do w T hat ? To come out of the 
nature, spirit, lusts, and customs of this wicked world : 
remembering Jesus has said, that for every idle word 
man speaketh, he shall give an account in the day of 
judgment. 

This concern of mind and dejection of spirit, was 
visible to our neighbours ; and we are not ashamed to 
own, that the terrors of the Lork took such hold upon 
us, because we had long, under a profession of reli- 
gion, grieved God's Holy Spirit, which reproved us in 
secret for our disobedience ; that as we abhorred to 
think of continuing in our old sins, so we feared to 
use lawful things, lest we should use them unlawfully. 
The words of the prophet were fulfilled on us : — 
" Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his 
loins ?" Many a pang and throe have we had ; our 
heaven seemed to melt away, and our earth to be re- 
moved out of its place ; and we were like men, as the 
apostle said, " upon whom the ends of the world w T ere 
come." God knows it was so in that day ; the bright- 
ness of his coming to our souls discovered, and the 
breath of his mouth destroyed, every plant he had not 



106 



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planted in us. He was a swift witness against every 
evil thought, and every unfruitful work ; and, blessed 
be his name, we were not offended in him, or at his 
righteous judgments. Now it was, that a grand in- 
quest came upon our whole life : every word, thought, 
and deed w T as brought to judgment, the root examined, 
and its tendency considered. " The lust of the eye, 
the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life," were opened 
to our view ; the mystery of iniquity in us. By know- 
ing the evil leaven, and its divers evil effects in our- 
selves, how it had wrought, and what it had done, we 
came to have a sense and knowledge of the states of 
others : and what we could not, nay, dare not live and 
continue in ourselves, as being manifested to us to 
proceed from an evil principle in the time of man's 
degeneracy, we could not comply with in others. I 
say, and that in the fear and presence of the all-seeing 
just God, the honours and respect of the w r orld, among 
other things became burdensome to us : we saw they 
had no being in paradise, that they grew in the night- 
time, and came from an evil root ; and that they only 
delighted a vain and ill mind, and that much pride 
and folly were in them. 

6. We easily foresaw^ the storms of reproach that 
would fall upon us, for our refusing to practice them ; 
yet we were so far from being shaken in our judgment, 
that it abundantly confirmed our sense of them. For 
so exalted a thing is man, and so loving of honour 
and respect even from his fellow-creatures, that so 
soon as in tenderness of conscience towards God, we 
could not perform them, as formerly, he became more 
concerned than for all the rest of our differences, how- 
ever material to salvation. So that let the honour of 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



107 



God, and our own salvation, do as they will, it was 
greater heresy and blasphemy to deny him the homage 
of the hat, and his usual titles of honour ; to refuse to 
pledge his health, or play with him at cards and dice, 
than any other principle we maintained. 

7. Though it be frequently objected, that we seek 
to set up outward forms of preciseness, and that it is 
but as a green ribbon, the badge of the party, to be 
better known; I do declare in the fear of Almighty 
God, that these are but the imaginations and vain con- 
structions of men, who have not had that sense, which 
the Lord hath given us, of what arises from the right 
and the w T rong root in man. And when such censurers 
of our simplicity shall be inwardly touched and awak- 
ened, by the mighty power of God, and see things as 
they are in their proper natures and seeds, they will 
then know their own burden, and easily acquit us, 
without the imputation of folly or hypocrisy herein. 

8. To such as say that we strain at small things, 
which becomes not people of so fair pretensions to 
liberty and freedom of spirit ; I answer, with meek- 
ness, truth, and sobriety ; first, nothing is small, which 
God makes matter of conscience to do, or leave un- 
done. Next, inconsiderable as they are made by those 
who object to our practice, they are so greatly set by, 
that for our not giving them, we are beaten, imprisoned, 
refused justice, &c, to say nothing of the derision and 
reproach which have been frequently flung at us on 
this account. So that if we had wanted a proof of the 
truth of out inward belief and judgment, the very 
practice of those who opposed it w T ould have abun- 
dantly confirmed us. But let it suffice to us, that 
" wisdom is justified of her children:" we only pas- 



1Q8 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

sively omit the practice of what we are taught to be- 
lieve is vain and unchristian, in which we are negative 
to forms ; for we leave off, we do not set up forms. 

9. The world is so set upon the ceremonious part 
and outside of things, that it has pleased the wisdom 
of God in all ages, to bring forth his dispensations 
with very different appearances to their settled cus- 
toms ; thereby contradicting human inventions, and 
proving the integrity of his confessors. Nay, it is a 
test upon the world : it tries what patience, kindness, 
sobriety, and moderation they have. If the rough and 
homely outside of truth stumble not their minds from 
its reception, whose beauty is within, it makes a great 
discovery to them. He who refuses a precious jewel, 
because it is presented in a plain box, will never 
esteem it to- its value, nor set his heart upon keeping 
it ; therefore I call it a test, because it shows where 
the hearts and affections of people are, after all their 
great pretences to more excellent things. 

10. It is also a trial upon God's people, in that they 
are put upon the discovery of their contradiction to 
the customs generally received and esteemed in the 
world ; which exposes them to the wonder, scorn, and 
abuse of the multitude. But there is an hidden trea- 
sure in it: it inures us to reproach, it learns us to 
despise the false reputation of the world, and silently 
to undergo the contradiction and scorn of its votaries ; 
and finally, with a Christian meekness and patience, 
to overcome their injuries and reproaches. Add to 
this ; that it weans thee from thy familiars ; for by 
being slighted of them as a ninny, a fool, a fanatic, 
&c, thou art delivered from a greater temptation, and 
that is, the power and influence of their vain conver- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



109 



sation. Last of all, it enlists thee in the company of 
the blessed, mocked, persecuted Jesus ; to fight under 
his banner, against the world, the flesh, and the devil : 
that after having faithfully suffered with him in a state 
of humiliation, thou mayest reign with him in a state 
of glorification ; who glorifies his poor, despised, con- 
stant followers, with the glory he had with his Father 
before the world began. This was the first reason of 
our declining to practise the before-mentioned honours, 
respects, &c. 

11. The second reason, why we decline and refuse 
the present use of these customs in our addresses and 
salutations, is, from the consideration of their very 
emptiness and vanity ; that there is nothing of true 
honour and respect in them, supposing them not to be 
evil. And as religion and worship are degenerated 
into form and ceremony, and even they not according 
to primitive practice, so are honour and respect too ; 
there being little of these in the world, as well as of 
the other ; and to be sure, in these customs, none that 
is justifiable by Scripture or reason. 

12. In Scripture we find the word honour often 
diversely used. First, for obedience : as when God 
saith, " they that honour me ;" that is, that keep my 
commandments. " Honour the King;" that is, obey 
the King. " Honour thy father and mother;" that is, 
saith the apostle to the Ephesians, " Obey thy father 
and thy mother in the Lord, for that is right." Take 
heed to their precepts and advice ; presupposing al- 
ways, that rulers and parents command lawful things ; 
else they dishonour themselves to enjoin unlawful 
things; and subjects and children dishonour their 
superiors and parents, in complying with their un- 

10 



110 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



righteous commands. Also, Christ uses this word so, 
when he says, " I have not a devil, but I honour my 
Father, and ye dishonour me :" that is, I do my Fa- 
ther's will, in what I do ; but you will not hear me ; 
you reject my counsel, and will not obey my voice. 
It was not refusing hat and knee, or empty titles ; it 
was disobedience ; resisting him whom God had sent, 
and not believing him. This was the dishonour he 
taxed them with ; using him as an impostor, whom 
God had ordained for the salvation of the world. Of 
these dishonourers, there are but too many at this day. 
Christ has another saying to the same effect : " That 
all men should honour the Son, even as they honour 
the Father ; and he that honoureth not the Son, hon- 
oureth not the Father, which hath sent him." They 
who hearken not to Christ, and do not worship, nor 
obey him, do not hear, worship, nor obey God. As 
they pretended to believe in God, so they were to be- 
lieve in his Son ; he told them so. This is manifested 
in the case of the centurion, whose faith was so much 
commended by Christ, where, giving an account of 
his honourable station, he tells him, " He had soldiers 
under his authority; and when he said to one, Go, he 
went ; to another, Come, he came ; and to a third, 
Do this, he did it." In this he placed the honour of 
his capacity, and the respect of his soldiers, and not 
in hats and legs : nor are such customs yet in use 
amongst soldiers, being effeminate, and unworthy of 
masculine gravity. 

13. In the next place, honour is used for preferment 
to trust and eminent employments. The Psalmist, 
speaking to God, says, " For thou hast crowned him 
with glory and honour :" again, " Honour and majesty 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. HI 

hast thou laid on him :" that is, God had given Christ 
power over all his enemies, and exalted him to great 
dominion. Thus the wise man intimates, when he 
says, " The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wis- 
dom, and before honour is humility." That is, before 
advancement or preferment, is humility. He has this 
saying also, " As snow in summer, and as rain in har- 
vest, so honour is not seemly for a fool:" that is, a 
fool is not capable of the dignity of trust, employment, 
or preferment ; these require virtue, wisdom, integrity, 
diligence, of which fools are unfurnished. And yet, 
if the respects and titles in use amongst us, are to go 
for marks of honour, Solomon's proverb will take place 
upon the practice of this age, which yields so much 
of that honour to a great many of Solomon's fools ; 
who are not only silly men, but wicked too ; such as 
refuse instruction, and hate the fear of the Lord ; which 
only maketh one of his wise men. 

14. As virtue and wisdom are the same, so folly 
and wickedness. Thus Shechem's conduct to Dinah, 
Jacob's daughter, is called: so is the rebellion and 
wickedness of the Israelites in Joshua. The Psalmist 
expresses it thus : " My wounds stink because of my ' 
foolishness ;" that is, his sin. And, " The Lord will 
speak peace to his saints, that they turn not again to 
folly," that is, to evil. "His own iniquities," says 
Solomon, « shall take the wicked himself, and he shall 
be holden with the cords of his sins : he shall die with- 
out instruction, and in the greatness of his folly, he 
shall go astray." Christ puts foolishness with blas- 
phemy, pride, thefts, murders, adulteries, wickedness, 
&c I was the more willing to add these passages, 
to show the difference that there is between the mind 



112 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



of the Holy Ghost, and the notion those ages had of 
fools who deserve not honour, and that which is gen- 
erally meant by fools and folly in our time : that we 
may the better understand the disproportion there is 
between honour, as then understood by the Holy 
Ghost, and those who were led thereby ; and the ap- 
prehension of it, and practice of these latter ages of 
professed Christians. 

15. But honour is also taken for reputation, and so 
it is understood with us : " A gracious woman (says 
Solomon) retaineth honour ;" that is, she keeps her 
credit ; and, by her virtue, maintains her reputation of 
sobriety and chastity. In another place, "It is an 
honour for a man to cease from strife ;" that is, it 
makes for his reputation, as a wise and good man. 
Christ uses the word thus, where he says, " A prophet 
is not without honour, save in his own country:" 
that is, he has credit, and is valued, save at home. 
The apostle to the Thessalonians has a saying to the 
same effect : " That every one of you should know 
how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour ;" 
that is, in chastity and sobriety. In all which, nothing 

* of the fashions by us declined is otherwise concerned, 
than to be totally excluded. 

16. There is yet another use of the word [honour] in 
Scripture, and that is to functions and capacities : as, 
" an elder is worthy of double honour:" that is, he 
deserves double esteem, love and respect; being holy, 
merciful, temperate, peaceable, humble, &c, especial- 
ly one who " labours in word and doctrine." So Paul 
recommends Epaphroditus to the Philippians ; "Re- 
ceive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and 
hold such in reputation." As if he had said, let 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



113 



them be valued and regarded by you in what they say 
and teach. This is the truest and most natural and 
convincing way of testifying respect to a man of God, 
as Christ said to his disciples, " If ye love me, ye will 
keep my sayings." The apostle bids us, " to honour 
widows indeed;" that is, such women as are of chaste 
lives, and exemplary virtue, are honourable. Mar- 
riage is honourable too, with this proviso, that the bed 
be undefiled : so that the honour of marriage, is the 
chastity of the married. 

17. The word honour in the Scriptures is also used 
of superiors to inferiors ; which is plain in that of 
Ahasuerus to Haman : " What shall be done to the 
man whom the king delighteth to honour?" Why, he 
mightily advanced him, as he did Mordecai afterwards. 
And more particularly it is said, " That the Jews had 
light, and gladness, and joy, and honour:" that is, 
they escaped the persecution that was likely to fall 
upon them, and by means of Esther and Mordecai, 
enjoyed, not only peace, but favour and countenance 
too. In this sense, the apostle Peter advised men, 
" to honour their wives ;" that is, to love, value, 
cherish, countenance and esteem them, for their fidel- 
ity and affection for their husbands ; for their tender- 
ness and care over their children, and for their dili- 
gence and circumspection in their families : no cere- 
monious behaviour, or gaudy titles, are requisite to 
express this honour. Thus God honours holy men : 
" They that honour me, I will honour; and they that 
despise me, shall be lightly esteemed :" that is, I will 
do good to them, I will love, bless, countenance, and 
prosper them who honour and obey me : but they that 
despise me, that resist my spirit, and break my law, 
10 * 



114 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



shall be lightly esteemed, or accounted of: they shall 
not find favour with God, nor with righteous men. 
So Ave see it daily among men : if the great visit, or 
concern themselves to aid the poor, we say, that such 
a great man did me the honour to come and see or 
help me in my need. 

18. I shall conclude this with one passage more, 
and that is a very large, plain, and pertinent one : 
" Honour all men, and love the brotherhood :" that 
is, love is above honour, which is the esteem and re- 
gard thou owest to all men ; and if all, then thy infe- 
riors. But why for all men ? Because they are the 
creation of God, and the noblest part of his creation 
too ; they are also thy own kind : be natural, have 
compassion, and assist them with what thou canst ; be 
ready to perform any real respect, and yield them any 
good or countenance thou canst. 

19. Yet there seems a limitation to this command, 
honour all men, in that passage of godly David, 
" Who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? who shall dwell 
in thy holy hill ? He in whose eyes a vile person is 
contemned ; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord." 
Here honour is confined to Godly persons, and dis- 
honour is made the duty of the righteous to the wick- 
ed, and a mark of their being righteous, that they dis- 
honour, slight, or disregard them. To conclude this 
Scripture inquiry after honour, I shall contract it under 
three capacities; superiors, equals, and inferiors: 
honour to superiors, obedience ; to equals, love ; to 
inferiors, countenance and help : that is honour after 
God's mind, and the holy people's fashion of old. 

20. But how little of all this is to be seen in a poor 
empty hat, bow, cringe, or gaudy flattering title ? Let 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



115 



the truth- speaking witness of God in all mankind 
judge. For I must not appeal to corrupt, proud, and 
self-seeking man, for the good or evil of these cus- 
toms ; which, as little as he would render them, are 
loved and sought by him, and he is out of humour and 
angry, if he has them not. 

This is our second reason, why we refuse to prac- 
tise the accustomed ceremonies of honour and respect, 
because we find no such notion or expression of honour 
and respect, recommended to us by the Holy Ghost in 
the Scriptures of truth. 

21. Our third reason, for not using them as testimo- 
nies of honour and respect is, because there is no dis- 
covery of honour or respect made by them : it is 
rather' : eluding and equivocating it ; cheating peo- 
ple of the honour or respect that is due to them ; giv- 
ing them nothing in the show of something. There is 
in them no obedience to superiors ; no love to equals ; 
no help or countenance to inferiors. 

22. We declare to the whole world, that we are for 
true honour and respect: we honour the king, our 
parents, our masters, our magistrates, our landlords, 
one another ; yea all men, after God's way, used by 
holy men and women of old time : but we refuse 
their customs, as vain and deceitful; not answering 
the end they are used for. 

23. But there is yet more to be said : we find that 
vain, loose, and worldly people, are the great lovers 
and practisers of them, and most deride our simplicity 
of behaviour. Now we assuredly know, from the 
sacred testimonies, that those people cannot give true 
honour, who live in a dishonourable spirit : they un- 
derstand it not : but they can give the hat and knee ; 



116 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



and this they are very liberal of ; nor are any more 
expert at it. This is to us a proof, that no true honour 
can be testified by those customs, which vanity and 
looseness love and use. 

24. Next to them, I will add hypocrisy and revenge 
too. For how little do many care for each other ? 
Nay, what spite, envy, animosity, secret back-biting, 
and plotting one against another, under the use of 
these idle respects ; till passion, too strong for cun- 
ning, breaks through hypocrisy into open affront and 
revenge. It cannot be so with the Scripture-honour : 
to obey, or prefer a man, out of spite, is not usually 
done ; and to love, help, serve, and countenance, a 
person, in order to deceive and be revenged of him, 
is a thing never heard of : these admit of no hypocri- 
sy nor revenge. Men do not those things to palliate 
ill-will, which are the testimonies of quite the contra- 
ry. It is absurd to imagine it, because impossible to 
be done. 

25. Our sixth reason is, that honour was from the 
beginning, but hat-respects and most titles are of late : 
therefore there was true honour before hats or titles ; 
and consequently true honour stands not in them. 
And that which was the way to express true honour, 
is the best way still ; and this the Scripture teaches 
better than dancing-masters can do. 

26. If honour consists in such like ceremonies, then 
will it follow, that those are most capable of showing 
honour, who perform it most exactly, according to the 
mode or fashion of the times ; consequently, that man 
hath not the measure of true honour, from a just and 
reasonable principle in himself, but by the means and 
skill of the fantastic dancing-masters of the times : 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



117 



and for this cause it is, we see, that many give much 
money to have their children taught honours, falsely so 
called. And what doth this but totally exclude the 
poor country-people ; who, though they plough, sow, 
till, reap, go to market, and in all things obey their 
justices, landlords, fathers and masters, with sincerity 
and sobriety, rarely use those ceremonies. And if 
they do, it is so awkwardly and meanly done, that 
they are esteemed by a court-critic so ill-favoured, as 
only fit to make a jest of and be laughed at : but what 
sober man will not deem their obedience beyond the 
other's vanity and hypocrisy? This base notion of 
honour turns out of doors the true honour, and sets 
the false in its place. Let it be farther considered, 
that the way or fashion of doing it, is much more in 
the design of its performers, as well as view of its 
spectators, than the respect itself. "Whence it is com- 
monly said, he is a man of good mien ; or, she is a 
woman of exact behaviour. And what is this beha- 
viour, but fantastic, cramped postures, and cringings, 
unnatural to their shape, and, if it were not fashiona- 
ble, ridiculous to the view of all people ; and is there- 
fore to the Eastern countries a proverb. 

27. Real honour consists not in a hat, bow, or title, 
because all these things maybe had for money. For 
which reason, how many dancing-schools, plays, &c, 
are there in the land, to which youth are generally sent 
to be educated in these vain fashions? whilst they are 
ignorant of the honour that is of God, and their minds 
are allured to visible things that perish ; and. instead 
of remembering their Creator, are taken up with toys 
and fopperies ; and sometimes so much worse, as to 
cost themselves a disinheriting, and their indiscreet 



IIS 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



parents grief and misery all their days. If parents 
would honour God in the help of his poor, with the 
substance they bestow on such an education, they 
would find a better account in the end. 

28. Lastly, we cannot esteem bows, titles, and 
pulling off of hats, to be real honour, because such 
like customs have been prohibited by God, his Son 
and servants in days past. This I shall endeavour to 
show by three or four express authorities. 

29. My first example and authority, is taken from 
the story of Mordecai and Hainan : so close to this 
point, that methinks it should at least command silence 
to the objections frequently advanced against us. 
Hainan was first minister of state, and favourite to 
king Ahasuerus. The text says, " That the king set 
his seat above all the princes that were with him : and 
all the king's servants bowed and reverenced Hainan, 
for the king had so commanded concerning him: but 
Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence." This, 
at first, made ill for Mordecai : a sallows v~as pre- 
pared for him at Hainan's command. But the sequel 
of the story shows, that Hainan proved his own inven- 
tion, and ended his pride with his life, upon it. 
Speaking as the world speaks, and looking upon 
Mordecai without the knowledge of his -success; was 
not Mordecai a very clown, at least a silly, morose 
and humourous man, to run such a hazard for a trifle ? 
What hurt would it have done him to bow to and 
honour one the king honoured : did he not despise the 
king, in disregarding Hainan ? nay, had not the kins 
commanded that respect? and are we not to honour 
and obey the king: One would have thought, he 
might have bowed for the king's sake, whatever he 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 119 

had in his heart, and yet have come off well enough : 
as he bowed not merely to Haman, but to the king's 
authority ; besides, it was but an innocent ceremony. 
It seems however, Mordecai was too plain and stout, 
and not fine and subtle enough to avoid the displeasure 
of Haman. 

Howbeit, he was an excellent man: " he feared 
God, and wrought righteousness." And in this very 
thing also, he pleased God, and even the king too at 
last, who had most cause to be angry with him : for 
he advanced him to Hainan's dignity ; and, if it could 
be, to greater honour. It is true, sad news first came ; 
no less than destruction to Mordecai, and the whole 
people of the Jews besides, for his sake. But his in- 
tegrity and humiliation, his fasting and strong cries to 
God prevailed, and the people were saved, and poor 
condemned Mordecai comes, after all, to be exalted 
above the princes. O this has great doctrine in it, to 
all those that are in their spiritual exercises and temp- 
tations, whether in this or any other respect ! They 
who endure faithfully in that which they are convinced 
God requires of them, though against the grain and 
humour of the world, and themselves too, shall find 
a blessed recompense in the end. My brethren, re- 
member the cup of cold water ! " We shall reap, if 
we faint not:" and call to mind, that our Captain 
bowed not to him who told him, " if thou wilt fall 
down and worship me, I will give thee all the glory 
of the world." Shall we bow then? O no ! let us 
follow our blessed Leader. 

30. Before I leave this section, it is fit I should add, 
that in conference with a late bishop, and none of the 
least eminent, upon this subject and instance, I re- 



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member he sought to evade it thus : " Mordecai did 
not refuse to bow, as it was a testimony of respect to 
the king's favourite ; but he being a figure and type 
of Christ, he refused it, because Hainan was of the 
uncircumcision, and ought to bow to him rather." 
To which I replied ; that allowing Mordecai to be a 
figure of Christ, and the Jews of God's people or 
church ; .and that as the Jews were saved by Morde- 
cai, so the church is saved by Christ : this makes for 
me. For then, by that reason, the spiritual circumci- 
sion, or people of Christ, are not to receive and bow 
to the fashions and customs of the spiritual uncircum- 
cision, who are the children of the world. Such prac- 
tices as were condemnable so long ago, in the time of 
the type and figure, can by no means be justifiably 
received or practised in the time of the antitype or 
substance itself. On the contrary, this shows ex- 
pressly, that we are faithfully to decline such worldly 
customs, and not to fashion ourselves according to the 
conversation of earthly-minded people ; but to be re- 
newed and changed in our ways ; and keep close to 
Mordecai, who having not bowed, we must not bow, 
that are his people and followers. And whatever be 
our suffering, or reproaches, they will have an end. 
Mordecai, our captain, who appears for his people 
throughout all the provinces, in the king's gate, will 
deliver us at last ; and, for his sake, we shall be fa- 
voured and loved of the king himself too. So pow- 
erful is faithful Mordecai at last. Therefore let us all 
look to Jesus, our Mordecai, the Israel indeed ; he 
that has power with God, and would not bow in the 
hour of temptation, but has mightily prevailed ; and 
therefore is a prince forever, and of his government 
there shall never be an end. 



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121 



31. The next Scripture-instance I shall urge against 
these customs, is a passage in Job, thus expressed ; 
" Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person ; 
neither let me give flattering titles unto man, for I 
know not to give flattering titles : in so doing my 
Maker would soon take me away." The question 
that will arise upon the allegation of this Scripture, is 
this, viz. What titles are flattering ? The answer is as 
obvious, namely, Such as are empty and fictitious, and 
make him more than he is. To call a man what he is 
not, to please him ; or to exalt him beyond his true 
name, office, or desert, to gain upon his affection ; 
who, it may be, lusteth to honour and respect. Such 
as these, Most excellent, most sacred, your grace, your 
lordship, most dread majesty, right honourable, right 
worshipful, may it please your majesty, your grace, 
your lordship, your honour, your worship, and the like 
unnecessary titles and attributes ; calculated only to 
please and tickle poor, proud, vain, yet mortal man. 
Likewise to call man what he is not, as my lord, my 
master, &c, and wise, just, or good, when he is 
neither, only to please him, or to show him respect. 

It was common to do thus among the Jews, under 
their degeneracy ; wherefore one came to Christ and 
said : " Good master, what shall 1 do to have eternal 
life ?" It was a salutation or address of respect in 
those times. It is familiar now : good my lord, good 
sir, good master, do this, or do that. But what was 
Christ's answer ? how did he take it ? " Why callest 
thou me good?" says Christ, "there is none good 
save one, that is God." He rejected it, who had 
more right to keep it than all mankind : and why ? 
because though there was no one greater than he ; yet 

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he saw the man addressed it to his manhood, after the 
way of the times, and not to his divinity which dwelt 
within it ; therefore He refused it, instructing us that 
we should not give such epithets and titles commonly 
to men : for good being due alone to God and godli- 
ness, it can only be said in flattery to fallen man, and 
therefore sinful to be so said. 

This plain and exact life well became him, who was 
on purpose manifested to restore man from his lament- 
able degeneracy, to the innocency and purity of his 
first creation, who has taught us to be careful, how we 
use and give attributes unto man, by that most severe 
saying, " That every idle word that men shall speak, 
they shall give an account thereof in the day of judg- 
ment." That which should warn all men of the lati- 
tude they take herein, and sufficiently justify out ten- 
derness, is this, that man can scarcely commit greater 
injury and offence against Almighty God, that to as- 
cribe any of his attributes unto man, the creature of 
his word, and the work of his hands. He is a jealous 
God of his honour, and will not give his glory unto 
another. Besides, it is near the sin of the aspiring 
fallen angels, who affected to be greater and better 
than they were made by the great Lord of all. To 
entitle man to a station above his make and orb, looks 
so like idolatry, the unpardonable sin under the law, 
that it is hard to think, how men and women profess- 
ing Christianity, and seriously reflecting upon their 
vanity and evil in these things, can continue in them, 
much less plead for them, and least of all reproach and 
deride those, who through tenderness of conscience 
cannot use and give them. It seems that Elihu did 
not dare to do it ; but put such weight upon the mat- 



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123 



ter, as to give this as a reason of his forbearance, to 
wit, " Lest my Maker should soon take me away :V 
that is, for fear God should strike me dead, I dare not 
give man titles, that are above him, or titles merely to 
please him. I may not, by any means, gratify that 
spirit which lusteth after such things. God is jealous 
of man's being set higher than his station : he will 
have*him keep his place, know his place, know his 
original, and remember the rock from whence he 
came. What he has is borrowed, not his own, but 
his Maker's who brought him forth, and sustained 
him ; which man is very apt to forget. And lest I 
should be accessary to it by flattering titles, instead of 
telling him truly and plainly what he is, and using 
him, as he ought to be treated, and thereby provoke 
my Maker to displeasure, and he, in his anger and 
jealousy, should take me soon away, or bring sudden 
death and an untimely end upon me, I dare not use, 
I dare not give such titles unto men. 

32. But if we had not this to allege from the Old 
Testament-writings, it should and ought to suffice with 
Christians, that these customs are severely censured 
by the great Lord and Master of all their religion ; 
who is so far from putting people upon giving honour 
one to another, that he will not indulge them in it, 
whatever be the customs of the country they live in : 
for he charges it upon the Jews, as a mark of their 
apostacy: "How can ye believe, which receive 
honour one of another, and seek not the honour that 
cometh from God only ?" Their infidelity concerning 
Christ is made the effect of seeking worldly, and not 
heavenly honour only. And the thing is not hard to 
apprehend, if we consider, that self-love, and desire 



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of honour from men, is inconsistent with the love and 
humility of Christ. They sought the good opinion 
and respect of the world ; how then was it possible, 
they should leave all and follow him, whose kingdom 
is not of this world ; and who came in a way so cross 
to the mind and humour of it ? That this was the 
meaning of our Lord Jesus, is plain : for he tells us, 
what that honour was they gave and received, which 
he condemns them for, and of which he bid the disci- 
ples of his humility and cross to beware. His words 
are these, and he speaks them not of the rabble, but 
of the doctors, the great men, the men of honour 
among the Jews, " They love the uppermost rooms at 
feasts ;" that, is, places of greatest rank and respect; 
" greetings," that is, salutations of respect, such as 
pulling off the hat, and bowing the body are in our 
age ; " in the market-places," viz. in the places of 
note and concourse, the public walks and exchanges 
of the country ; and lastly, " They love to be called 
of men, Rabbi, Rabbi :" one of the most eminent titles 
among the Jews. A word comprehending an excel- 
lency equal to many titles : it may stand for your 
grace, your lordship, right reverend father, &c. It is 
upon these men of breeding and quality, that he pro- 
nounces his woes, making these practices some of the 
motives of his threatening against them. But he 
leaves it not here ; he pursues this very point of 
honour, above all the rest, in his caution to his disci- 
ples ; to whom he gave in charge thus : " But be not 
ye called Rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, 
and all ye are brethren. Neither be ye called mas- 
ters ; but he that is greatest among you shall be your 
servant : and whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be 



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125 



abased." These passages carry a severe rebuke, both 
to worldly honour in general, and to those members 
and expressions of it in particular, which as near as 
the language of Scripture and customs of that age 
will permit, do distinctly reach and allude to those of 
our own time ; for the declining of which, we have 
suffered so much scorn and abuse, both in our persons 
and estates : God forgive the unreasonable authors of 
it! 

33. The apostle Paul has a saying of great weight 
and fervency, in his epistle to the Romans, very 
agreeable to this doctrine of Christ : it is this : "I 
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of 
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
service : and be not conformed to this world, but be 
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye 
may prove what is that good, and acceptable and per- 
fect will of God. 1 ' He wrote to a people in the midst 
of the ensnaring pomp and glory of the world : Rome 
was the seat of Caesar, and the. empire: the mistress 
of invention. Her fashions, as those of France now, 
were as laws to the world, at least at Rome : whence 
it is proverbial. 

Cumfueris Roma, Romano vivito more. 
When thou art at Rome, thou must do as Rome does. 

But the apostle is of another mind : he warns the 
Christians of that city, " that they be not conformed :" 
that is, that they do not follow the vain fashions and 
customs of this world, but leave them. The empha- 
sis lies upon this, as well as upon conformed, and it 
imports, that this world, which they were not to con- 

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126 



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form to, was the corrupt and degenerate condition of 
mankind in that age. Wherefore the apostle proceeds 
to exhort those believers, by the mercies of God, the 
most powerful and winning of all arguments, " that 
they would be transformed," i. e. changed from the 
way of life customary among the Romans ; " and 
prove what is that acceptable will of God." As if he 
had said, examine what you do and practise ; see if it 
be right, and that it please God : call every thought, 
word and action to judgment ; try whether they are 
wrought in God or not ; that so you may prove or 
know what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect 
will of God. 

34. The next Scripture authority we appeal to, in 
our vindication, is a passage of the apostle Peter, in 
his first epistle, written to the believing strangers 
throughout the countries of Pontus, Galatia, Cappa- 
docia, Asia and Bithinia : which were the churches 
of Christ Jesus in those parts of the world, gathered 
by his power and spirit. It is this, " Gird up the 
loins of your mind ; be sober and hope to the end, for 
the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revela- 
tion of Jesus Christ ; as obedient children, not fashion- 
ing yourselves according to the former lusts of your 
ignorance." That is, be not found in the vain fash- 
ions and customs of the world, unto which you con- 
formed in your ignorance ; but as you have believed 
in a more plain and excellent way, so be sober and 
fervent, and hope to the end : Do not give out ; let 
them mock on : bear ye the contradiction of sinners 
constantly, as obedient children, that you may receive 
the kindness of God, at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
And therefore does the apostle call them strangers, a 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



127 



figurative speech, people estranged from the customs of 
the world, of new faith and manners ; and so unknown 
of the world : And if such strangers, then not to be 
fashioned or conformed to their pleasing respects and 
honours, whom they were estranged from : because 
the strangeness lay in leaving that which was custo- 
tomary and familiar to them before. The following 
words proved he used the word strangers in a spiritual 
sense : Pass the time of your sojourning here as stran- 
gers on earth, in fear: not after the fashions of the 
world. A word in the next chapter farther explains 
this sense, where he tells the believers, that " they are 
a peculiar people :" to wit, a distinct, singular and 
separate people from the rest of the world ; not any 
longer to fashion themselves according to its customs. 
I do not know how that could be, if they were to live 
in communion with the world, in its respects and 
honours ; for that is not to be a peculiar or separate 
people from them, but to be like them, because con- 
conformable to them. 

35. I shall conclude my Scripture testimonies 
against the foregoing respects, with that memorable 
and close passage of the apostle James against res- 
pect to persons in general, after the world's fashion : 
" My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons : 
for if there come unto your assembly, a man with a 
gold ring, in goodly apparel ; and there come in also 
a poor man, in vile raiment, and ye have respect to 
him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him 
sit thou here in a goodly place, (or well and seemly 
as the word is) and say to the poor, stand thou there, 
or sit here under my footstool ; are ye not then partial 



128 



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in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts 
[that is, they knew they did amiss ?] If ye fulfil the 
royal law, according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well ; but if ye have 
respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced 
of the law as transgressors." This is so full, there 
seems nothing left for me to add, or others to object. 
We are not to respect persons, that is the first thing ; 
the next is, if we do, we commit sin and break the 
law ; at our own peril be it. And yet, perhaps, some 
will say, that by this we overthrow all manner of dis- 
tinction among men, under their divers qualities, and 
introduce a reciprocal and relational respect in the 
room of it. If it be so, I cannot help it, the apostle 
James must answer for it, who has given us this doc- 
trine for Christian and apostolical. And yet one 
greater than he told his disciples of whom James was 
one, viz. " Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles 
exercise dominion over them, &c. But it shall not 
be so among you ; but whosoever will be great among 
you, let him be your minister ; and whosoever will be 
chief among you, let him be your servant:" that is, 
he that affects rule, and seeks to be uppermost, shall 
be esteemed least among you. And to say true, upon 
the whole matter, whether we regard those early times 
of the world, that were antecedent to the coming of 
Christ, or soon after, there was a greater simplicity, 
than in the times in which we are fallen. For those 
early times of the world, as bad as they were in other 
things, were great strangers to the frequency of these 
follies : nay, they hardly used some of them, at least 
very rarely. For if we read the Scriptures, such a 
thing as my lord Adam, though lord of the world, is 



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129 



not to be found ; nor my lord Noah neither, the second 
lord of the earth : nor yet my lord Abraham, the father 
of the faithful ; nor my lord Isaac ; nor my lord Jacob ; 
but much less my lord Peter, and your holiness, or 
your grace. Even among the Gentiles, the people 
wore their own names with more simplicity, and used 
not the ceremoniousness of speech that is now prac- 
tised among Christians, nor yet any thing like it. My 
lord Solon, my lord Phocion, my lord Plato, my lord 
Aristotle, my lord Scipio, my lord Fabius, my lord 
Cato, my lord Cicero, are not to be read in any of the 
Greek or Latin stories, and yet they were some of the 
sages and heroes of those great empires. No, their 
own names were enough to distinguish them from 
other men, and their virtue and employment in the 
public were their titles of honour. Nor has this vanity 
crept far into the Latin writers, where it is familiar for 
authors to cite the most learned, and most noble, with- 
out any addition to their names, unless worthy or 
learned : and if their works give it them, we make no 
conscience to deny it them. For instance : the fathers 
they only cite thus ; Polycarpus, Ignatius, Irenseus, 
Cyprian, Tertullian, Origen, Arnobius, Lactantius, 
Chrysostom, Jerom, &c. More modem writers ; Da- 
mascen, Rabanus, Paschasius, Theophylact, Bernard, 
&c. And of the last age ; Luther, Melancthon, Cal- 
vin, Beza, Zuinglius, Marlorat, Vossius, Grotius, Dal- 
leus, Amaralldus, &c. And of our own country ; Gil- 
das, Beda, Alcuinus, Horn, Bracton, Grosteed, Little- 
ton, Cranmer, Ridley, Whitaker, Selden, &c. And 
yet I presume, this will not be thought uncivil or rude. 
Why then is our simplicity honestly grounded, as 
conscience against pride in man, that so eagerly and 



130 



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perniciously loves and seeks worship and greatness, 
so much despised, and that by professed Christians too, 
who take themselves to be the followers of Him, w T ho 
has forbidden these foolish customs, as plainly as any 
other impiety condemned in his doctrine ? I earnestly 
beg the lovers, users, and expecters of these ceremo- 
nies, to let what I have written have some considera- 
tion and weight with them. 

36. Christians are not so ill-bred as the world thinks, 
for they show respect too ; but the difference between 
them lies in the nature of the respect they perform, 
and the reasons of it. The world's respect is an 
empty ceremony, no soul or substance in it : the 
Christian's is a solid thing, whether by obedience to 
superiors, love to equals, or help and countenance to 
inferiors. Their reasons and motives to honour and 
respect, are as wide one from the other ; for fine ap- 
parel, empty titles, or large revenues, are the world's 
motive*, being things her children worship : but the 
Christian's motive is, the sense of his duty in God's 
sight ; first, to parents and magistrates ; then to infe- 
rior relations ; and lastly, to all people, according to 
their virtue, wisdom, and piety: which is far from 
respect to the mere persons of men, or having their 
persons in admiration for reward ; much less on such 
mean and base motives as wealth and sumptuous 
raiment. 

37. We shall easily grant, that our honour, as well 
as our religion, is more hidden ; and neither is so dis- 
cernible by worldly men, nor. grateful to them. Our 
plainness is odd, uncouth, and goes mightily against 
the grain ; but so does Christianity too, and for the 
same reasons, But had not the heathen spirit pre- 



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131 



vailed too long under a Christian profession, it would 
not be so hard to discern the right from the wrong. 
that Christians would look upon themselves, with 
the glass of righteousness, that which tells true, and 
gives them an exact knowledge of themselves ! and 
then let them examine, what there is in them, and 
about them, that agrees with Christ's doctrine and 
life ; and they may soon resolve, whether they are real 
Christians, or but heathens christened with the name 
of Christians. 

SOME TESTIMONIES EROM ANCIENT AND MODERN WRITERS, 
IN FAVOUR OF OUR BEHAVIOUR. 

38. Marlorat out of Luther and Calvin, upon that 
remarkable passage I just now urged from the apostle 
James, gives us the sense those primitive reformers 
had of respect to persons, in these words, viz. c< To 
respect persons, here, is to have regard to the outward 
habit and garb : the apostle signifies, that such respect- 
ing of persons is so contrary to true faith, that they 
are altogether inconsistent. If the pomp, and other 
worldly regards prevail, and weaken what is of Christ, 
it is a sign of a decaying faith ; yea, so great is the 
glory and splendour of Christ, in a pious soul, that all 
the glories of the world have no charms, no beauty, 
in comparison of that, unto one so religiously inclined. 
The apostle maketh such respecting of persons to be 
repugnant to the light (within them), insomuch as they 
who follow those practices are condemned from within 
themselves. So that sanctity ought to be the reason, 
or motive, of all outward respect ; and that none is to 
be honoured, upon any account, but holiness." If 
this be true doctrine, we are much in the right in 



132 



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refusing conformity to the vain respects of worldly 
men. 

39. But I shall add to these the admonition of a 
learned ancient writer, who lived about twelve hun- 
dred years since, of great esteem, namely Jerom, who, 
writing to a noble matron, Celantia, directing her how 
to live in the midst of her prosperity and honours, 
amongst many other religious instructions, speaks thus : 
"Heed not thy nobility, nor let that be a reason for 
thee to take place of any; esteem not those of a 
meaner extraction to be thy inferiors ; for our religion 
admits of no respect of persons, nor doth it induce us 
to repute men from any external condition, but from 
their inward frame and disposition of mind : it is here- 
by that we pronounce men noble or base. With God, 
not to serve sin, is to be free ; and to excel in virtue, 
is to be noble. God has chosen the mean and con- 
temptible of this world, whereby to humble the great 
ones. Besides, it is a folly for any to boast his gen- 
tility, since all are equally esteemed by God. The 
ransom of the poor and rich cost Christ an equal ex- 
pense of blood. Nor is it material in what state a man 
is born ; the new creature hath no distinction. But if 
we will forget that we all descended from one Father, 
we ought at least perpetually to remember, that we 
have but one Saviour." 

40. Since I am engaged against these fond and 
fruitless customs, the proper effects and delights of 
vain and proud minds, let me yet add one memorable 
passage more, as it is related by the famous Causabon, 
in his Discourse of Use and Custom ; where he briefly 
reports what passed between Sulpitius Severus, and 
Paulinus, bishop of Nola, who gave all to redeem 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 133 

captives, whilst others of that function, that they may 
show who is their master, are making many both beg- 
gars and captives, by countenancing the plunder and 
imprisonment of Christians, for pure conscience to 
God. He brings it in thus : " He is not counted a 
civil man now, of late years amongst us, who thinks it 
much, or refuseth, to subscribe himself servant, though 
it be to his equal or inferior. Yet Sulpitius Severus 
was once sharply chid by Paulinus, for subscribing 
himself his servant, in a letter of his ; saying, " Take 
heed hereafter, how thou, being from a servant called 
into liberty, dost subscribe thyself servant unto one 
who is thy brother and fellow-servant ; for it is a sin- 
ful flattery, not a testimony of humility, to pay those 
honours to a man and a sinner, which are due to the 
one Lord, one Master, and one God." This bishop 
was of Christ's mind, " Why callest thou me good ? 
there is none good but one." By this we may see the 
sense of some of the more apostolical bishops about 
the civilities and fashions, so much reputed with people 
who call themselves Christians and bishops, and who 
would be thought their successors. It was then a sin, 
it is now an accomplishment ; it was then a flattery, it 
is now respect ; it was then fit to be severely reproved, 
and now, alas ! it is to deserve severe reproof not to 
use it. monstrous vanity! how much, how deeply, 
have those who are called Christians revolted from the 
plainness of the primitive days, and the practice of 
holy men and women in former ages ! How are they 
become degenerated into the loose, proud and wanton 
customs of the world, which knows not God ; to whom 
use hath made those things condemned by Scripture, 
reason, and example, almost natural ! And so insen- 

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134 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



sible are they of both their cause and bad effects, that 
they not only continue to practise them, but plead for 
them, and unchristianly make a very mock of those 
who cannot imitate them. But I shall proceed to what 
remains yet farther to be said in our defence for de- 
clining another custom, which helps to make us so 
much the stumbling-block of this light, vain, and in- 
considerate age. 



CHAPTER X. 

1. Another piece of non-conformity to the world, which is our simple 
and plain speech, Thou for Yon. Q. Justified from the use of words 
and numbers, singular and plural. 3. It was and is, the Hebrew, 
Greek, and Latin speech, in schools and universities. 4. It is the 
language of all nations. 5. The original of the present custom de- 
fends our disuse of it. 6. If custom should prevail, in a sense it 
would be on our side. 7. It cannot be uncivil, or improper; for 
God himself, the fathers, prophets, Christ, and his apostles, used it. 
8. An instance given in the case of Peter, in the palace of the high 
priest. 9. It is the practice of men to God in their prayers: the 
pride of man to expect better to himself. 10. Testimonies of several 
writers in vindication of us. 11. The author's convictions; and his 
exhortation to his reader. 

1. There is another piece of non-conformity to the 
world, that renders us very clownish to the breeding 
of it, and that is, Thou for You, and that without dif- 
ference or respect to persons : a thing which, to some, 
looks so rude, it cannot well go down without derision 
or wrath. But as we have the same original reason 
for declining this, as the foregoing customs, so I shall 
add what, to me, looks reasonable in our defence ; 
though, it is very probable, height of mind, in some 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 135 

of those that blame us, will very hardly allow them to 
believe that the word reasonable is reconcilable with 
so silly a practice as this is esteemed. 

2. Words, of themselves, are but so many marks 
set and employed for necessary and intelligible medi- 
ums, or means, whereby men may understandingly 
express their minds and conceptions to each other; 
from whence comes conversation. Now, thouo-h the 
world be divided into many nations, each of which, 
for the most part, has a peculiar language, speech, or 
dialect, yet have they ever concurred in the same num- 
bers and persons, as much of the ground of right 
speech. For instance ; I love, Thou lovest, He loveth, 
are of the singular number, importing but one, whether 
in the first, second, or third person : also, We love, 
Ye love. They love, are of the plural number, because 
in each is implied more than one. Which undeniable 
grammatical rule might be enough to satisfy any, that 
have not forgot their accidence, that we are not beside 
reason in our practice. For if Thou lovest, be sin- 
gular, and You love, be plural; and if Thou lovest, 
signifies but one ; and You love, many ; is it not as 
proper to say Thou lovest, to ten men, as to say, You 
love, to one man ? Or, why not I love, for We love, 
and We love, instead of I love ? Doubtless it is the 
same, though most improper, and in speech ridiculous. 

3. Our next reason is ; if it be improper or uncivil 
speech, as termed by this vain age, how comes it that 
the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman authors, used in 
schools and universities, have no other ? Why should 
they not be a rule in that, as well as other things ? 
And why are we so ridiculous for being thus far gram- 
matical ? Is it reasonable that children should be 



136 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



whipt at school for putting You for Thou, as having 
made false Latin ; and yet that we must be reproached 
and often abused, when we use the contrary propriety 
of speech ? 

4. But in the third place, it is neither improper nor 
uncivil, but much otherwise ; because it is used in all 
languages, speeches and dialects, through all ages. 
This is very plain ; as for example, it was God's lan- 
guage when he first spake to Adam, viz., Hebrew: 
also it is the Assyrian, Chaldean, Grecian, and Latin 
speech. And now amongst the Turks, Tartars, Mus- 
covites, Indians, Persians, Italians, Spaniards, French, 
Dutch, Germans, Polonians, Swedes, Danes, Irish, 
Scottish, Welch, as well as English, there is a distinc- 
tion preserved ; and the word Thou is not lost in the 
word which goes for You. And though some of the 
modern tongues have done as we do, yet upon the 
same error. But by this it is plain, that Thou is no 
upstart, nor yet improper ; but the only proper word 
to be used in all languages to a single person ; be- 
cause otherwise all sentences, speeches, and discourses 
may be very ambiguous, uncertain, and equivocal. If 
a jury pronounce a verdict, or a judge a sentence, 
three being at the bar upon three occasions, very dif- 
ferently culpable, and should say, You are here guilty, 
and to die, or innocent and discharged, who knows 
who is guilty or innocent ? It may be but one, per- 
haps two ; or it may be all three. Therefore our in- 
dictments run in the singular number, as Hold up Thy 
hand : Thou art indicted by the name of, &c. ! and it 
holds the same in all conversation. Nor can this be 
avoided, but by many unnecessary circumlocutions. 
And as the preventing of such length and obscurity 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 137 

was doubtless the first reason for the distinction, so 
cannot that be justly disused, till the reason be first 
removed ; which can never be, whilst two are in the 
world. 

5. But this is not all : it was first ascribed, in way 
of flattery, to proud popes and emperors ; imitating the 
heathens' vain homage to their gods ; thereby ascrib- 
ing a plural honour to a single person ; as if one 
pope had been made up of many Gods, and one 
emperor of many men. For which reason, You, only 
to be used to many, became first spoken to one. It 
seems the word Thou looked like too lean and thin a 
respect ; and therefore some, bigger than they should 
be, would have a style suitable to their own ambition : 
a ground we cannot build our practice on ; for what 
began it, only loves it still. But supposing You to be 
proper to a prince, it will not follow it is to a common 
person. For his edict runs, " We will and require," 
because perhaps in conjunction with his council ; and 
therefore You to a private person, is an abuse of the 
word. But as pride first gave it birth, so hath she 
only promoted it. Monsieur,* sir, and madam were, 
originally, names given to none but the king, his bro- 
ther, and their wives, both in France and England ; 
yet now the ploughman in France is called Monsieur, 
and his wife, madam : and men of ordinary trades in 
England, sir, and their wives, dame ; which is the 
legal title of a lady, or else mistress, which is the 
same with madam in French. So prevalent hath 
pride and flattery been in all ages, the one to give, and 
the other to receive respect, as they term it. 

6. But some will tell us, custom should rule us ] 
* Howel's History of France, 

12* 



138 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



and that is against us. It is easily answered, and 
more truly, that though in things reasonable or indif- 
ferent, custom is obliging or harmless, yet in things 
unreasonable or unlawful, she has no authority. For 
custom can no more change numbers than genders, 
nor yoke one and You together, than make a man into 
a woman, or one a thousand. But if custom be to con- 
clude us, it is for us : for as custom is nothing else 
but ancient usage, I appeal to e practice of mankind, 
from the beginning of the world:, through all nations, 
against the novelty of this con. - ion, viz., You to one 
person. Let custom, which is ancient practice, and 
fact, issue this question. Mistake me not : I know 
words are nothing, but as men give them a value or 
force by use : but then, if you will discharge Thou, 
and that You must succeed in its place, let us have a 
distinguishing word in room of You, to be used in 
speech to many. But to use the same word for one 
and many, when there are two, and that only to please 
a proud and haughty humour in man, is not reasonable 
in our sense ; which, we hope, is Christian, though 
not modish. 

7. If thou to a single person be improper or uncivil, 
God himself, all the holy fathers and prophets, Christ 
Jesus and his apostles, the primitive saints, and all 
languages throughout the world, are guilty ; which, 
with submission, were great presumption to imagine. 
Besides, we all know, it is familiar with most authors, to 
preface their discourses to the reader in the same lan- 
guage of Thee and Thou : as reader, Thou art desired, 
&c, or, reader, this is written to inform Thee of the 
occasion, &c. And it cannot be denied, that the most 
famous poems, dedicated to love or majesty, are wrilj 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 139 

ten in this style. Read of each in Chaucer, Spencer, 
Waller, Cowley, Dryden,— and why then should it be 
so homely, ill-bred, and insufferable in us ? This, I 
conceive, can never be answered. 

8. I doubt not at all, but that something altogether 
as singular attended the speech of Christ and his dis- 
ciples : for I remember it was urged upon Peter in the 
high priest's palace, as a proof of his belonging to 
Jesus, when he denied his Lord : " Surely (said they) 
Thou also art one of them ; for thy speech bewrayeth 
Thee." They had guessed by his looks, but just be- 
fore, that he had been with Jesus ; but when they dis- 
coursed him, his language put them all out of doubt : 
surely then he was one of them, and he had been with 
J esus. It was something he had learned in his company, 
that was odd and observable ; not of the world's beha- 
viour. Without question, the garb, gait, and speech 
of his followers differed, as well as his doctrine, from 
the world ; for it was a part of his doctrine that it 
should be so. It is easy to believe, they were more 
plain, grave and precise ; which is more credible from 
the way which poor, confident, fearful Peter took to 
disguise the business ; for he fell to cursing and swear- 
ing. A sad shift ! but he thought that the likeliest 
way to remove the suspicion, which was most unlike 
Christ. And the policy took; for it silenced their 
objections: and Peter was as orthodox as they. But 
though they found him not out, the cock's-crow did ; 
which made Peter remember his dear suffering Lord's 
words, and " he went forth and wept bitterly," that 
he had denied his Master, who was then delivered up 
to die for him. 

9. But our last reason is of most weight with me ; 



140 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



because it is most heavy upon our despisers ; which 
is this : It should not therefore be urged upon us, be- 
cause it is a most extravagant piece of pride in a mor- 
tal man, to require or expect from his fellow-creature 
a more civil speech, or grateful language, that he is 
wont to give the immortal God, his Creator, in all his 
worship to him. Art thou, man, greater than he 
that made thee ? Canst thou approach the God of thy 
breath, and great judge of thy life, with Thou and 
Thee, and when thou risest off thy knees, scorn a 
Christian for giving to thee, poor mushroom of the 
earth, no better language than thou hast given to God 
but just before ? An arrogancy not to be easily equal- 
led ! But again, it is either too much or too little re- 
spect ; if too much, do not reproach and be angry, but 
gravely and humbly refuse it. If too little, why dost 
thou show no more to God ? whither is man gone ! 
to what a pitch does he soar ! He would be used 
more civilly by us, than he uses God ; which is to 
have us make more than a God of him : But he shall 
want worshippers of us, as well as he wants the divi- 
nity in himself that deserves to be worshipped. We 
are certain that the spirit of God seeks not these re- 
spects, much less pleads for them, or would be wroth 
with any that conscientiously refuse to give them. 

But that this vain generation is guilty of using them 
to gratify a vain mind, is too palpable. What capping, 
what cringing, what scraping, what vain unmeant 
words, most hyperbolical expressions, compliments, 
gross flatteries, and plain lies, under the name of civil- 
ities, are men and women guilty- of in conversation ! 
Ah my friends ! whence fetch you these examples ? 
What part of all the writings of the holy men of God 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



141 



warrants these things ? To come near to your own 
professions; Is Christ your example herein, whose 
name you pretend to bear ? or those saints of old, who 
lived in desolate places, of whom the world was not 
worthy. Or do you think you follow the practice of 
those Christians, who, in obedience to their Master's 
life and doctrine, forsook the respect of persons, and 
relinquished the fashions, honour and glory of this 
transitory world ; whose qualifications lay not in ex- 
ternal gestures, respects and compliments, but in a 
meek and quiet spirit, adorned with temperance, vir- 
tue, modesty, gravity, patience, and brotherly-kind- 
ness, which were the tokens of true honour, and the 
only badges of respect and nobility in those Christian 
times ? 

But is it not to expose ourselves to your contempt 
and fury, that we imitate them and not you ? And tell 
us, are not romances, plays, masks, gaming, fiddlers, 
&c, the entertainments that most delight you? Had 
you the spirit of Christianity indeed, could you con- 
sume your most precious little time in so many unne- 
cessary visits, games, and pastimes ; in your vain com- 
pliments, courtships, feigned stories, flatteries, and 
fruitless novelties, and what not ? invented and used 
for your diversion, to make you easy in your forgetful- 
ness of God. This never was the Christian way of 
living, but the entertainment of the heathens who knew 
not God. Oh, were you truly touched with a sense of 
your sins, and in any measure born again ; did you 
take up the cross of Jesus, and live under it, these 
things which so much please your wanton and sensual 
nature would find no place in you ! It is not seeking 
the things that are above, to have the heart thus set on 



142 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 



things that are below ; nor, " working out your own 
salvation with fear and trembling," to spend your 
days in vanity. This is not crying with Elihu, " I 
know not to give flattering titles to men ; for in so 
doing my Maker would soon take me away:" this is 
not to deny self, and lay up a more hidden and endur- 
ing substance, an eternal inheritance, in the heavens, 
that will not pass away. My friends, whatever you 
think, your plea of custom will find no place at God's 
tribunal : the light of Christ in your own hearts will 
overrule it, and this spirit, against which we testify, 
shall then appear to be what we say it is. Say not, I 
am serious about slight things : but beware you of 
levity and rashness in serious things. 

10. Before I close, I shall add a few testimonies 
from men of general credit, in favour of our non-con- 
formity to the world in this particular. 

Luther, the great reformer, whose sayings were 
oracles with the age he lived in, and of no less repu- 
tation now, with many that object against us, was so 
far from condemning our plain speech, that, in his 
Ludas, he sports himself with You to a single person, 
as an incongruous and ridiculous speech, viz., Magis- 
ter, vos estis iralus? Master, are you angry ? as absurd 
with him in Latin, as, Masters, art thou angry ? is in 
English. Erasmus, a learned man, and an exact critic 
in speech, than whom, I know not any we may so pro- 
perly refer the grammar of the matter to, not only de- 
rides it, but bestows a whole discourse in rendering it 
absurd : plainly manifesting, that it is impossible to 
preserve numbers, if You, the only word for more than 
one, be used to express one : as also, that the original 
of this corruption was the corruption of flattery. Lip- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



143 



sius affirms of the ancient Romans, that the manner of 
greeting, now in rogue, was not in use amongst them. 
Howel, in his History of France, gives us an ingenious 
account of its original ; where he not only assures us, 
that anciently the peasants Thou'd their kings, but that 
pride and flattery first put inferiors upon paying a plu- 
ral respect to the single person of every superior, and 
superiors upon receiving it. And though we had not 
the practice of God and man so undeniably to justify 
our plain and homely speech, yet, since we are per- 
suaded that its original was from pride and flattery, we 
cannot in conscience use it. And however we may 
be censured as singular, by those loose and airy minds, 
who, through the continual love of earthly pleasures, 
consider not the true rise and tendency of words and 
things, yet to us, whom God has convinced, by his 
light and spirit in our hearts, of the folly and evil of 
such courses, and brought into a spiritual discerning 
of the nature and ground of the world's fashions, they 
appear to be fruits of pride and flattery, and we dare 
not continue in such vain compliances to earthly minds, 
lest we offend God, and burden our consciences. But 
having been sincerely affected with the reproofs of 
instruction, and our hearts being brought into a watch- 
ful subjection to the righteous law of Jesus, so as to 
bring our deeds to the light, to see in whom they are 
wrought, whether in God, or not ; we cannot, we dare 
not conform ourselves to the fashions of the world, 
that pass away; knowing assuredly, that "for every 
idle word that men speak, they shall give an account 
in the day of judgment." 

11. Wherefore, reader, whether thou art a night- 
walking Nicodemus, or a scoffing scribe ; one that 



144 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



would visit the blessed Messiah, but in the dark cus- 
toms of the world, that thou mightest pass undiscerned, 
for fear of bearing his reproachful cross ; or else a 
favourer of Hainan's pride, and countest these testi- 
monies but a foolish singularity; divine love enjoins 
me to be a messenger of truth to thee, and a faithful 
witness against the evil of this degenerate world, as 
in other, so in these things : in which the spirit of 
vanity and lust hath got so great an head, and lived 
so long uncontrolled, that it hath impudence enough 
to term its darkness light, and to call its evil offspring 
by names due to a better nature, the more easily to 
deceive people into the practice of them. And truly, 
so very blind and insensible are most, of what spirit 
they are, and ignorant of the meek and self-denying 
life of holy Jesus, whose name they profess, that to 
call each other Rabbi, that is Master ; to bow to men, 
which I call worship, and to greet with flattering titles, 
and do their fellow-creatures homage ; to scorn that 
language to themselves that they give to God, and to 
spend their time and estate to gratify their wanton 
minds; the customs of the Gentiles, that knew not 
God, pass with them for civility, good breeding, de- 
cency, recreation, accomplishments, &c. 

O that man would consider, since there are but two 
spirits, one good and the other evil, which of them it 
is that inclines the world to these things ! Is it Nico- 
demus or Mordecai in thee, who doth befriend these 
despised Christians, which makes thee ashamed to 
disown that openly in conversation with the world, 
which the true light hath made vanity and sin to thee 
in secret ? Or, if thou art a despiser, tell me, I pray 
thee, which dost thou think thy mockery, anger, or 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



145 



contempt most resembles, proud Haman, or good Mor- 
decai ? No man hath more delighted in, or been more 
prodigal of those vanities called civilities, than myself; 
and could I have covered my conscience under the 
fashions of the world, truly, I had found a shelter from 
showers of reproach, that have fallen very often and 
thick upon me. But had I conformed to Egypt's cus- 
toms, I had sinned against my God, and lost my peace. 
I would not have thee think it is a mere thou or title, 
simply in themselves, we boggle at, or that we would 
set up any form inconsistent with sincerity or true 
civility : there is too much of that already : but the 
esteem and value which the vain minds of men put 
upon them, that ought to be crossed and stripped of 
their delights, constrain us to testify so steadily against 
them. And this know, from the sense God's Holy 
Spirit hath begotten in us, that that which requires 
these customs and begets fear to leave them, and 
pleads for them, and is displeased if they are not used 
and paid, is the spirit of pride and flattery in the 
ground, though frequency, use, or generosity, may 
have abated its strength in some: This being dis- 
covered by the light that now shines from heaven, in 
the hearts of the despised Christians I have commu- 
nion with, necessitates them to this testimony, and 
myself, as one of them, and for them, to reprove the 
unfaithful who would walk undiscerned, though con- 
vinced to the contrary ; and for an allay to the proud 
despisers, who scorn us as a people guilty of affecta- 
tion and singularity. 

The eternal God, who is great amongst us, and is 
on his way in the earth to make his power known, 
" will root up every plant that his right hand hath not 

13 



146 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



planted." Wherefore let me beseech thee, reader, to 
consider the foregoing reasons, which were mostly 
given me from the Lord, in that time, when my con- 
descension to these fashions would have been pur- 
chased at almost any rate ; but the certain sense I had 
of their contrariety to the meek and self-denying life 
of holy Jesus, required of me my disuse of them, and 
a faithful testimony against them. I speak the truth 
in Christ ; I lie not ; I would not have brought myself 
under censure and disdain for them, could I, with 
peace of conscience, have kept my belief under a 
worldly behaviour. It was extremely irksome to me, 
to decline and expose myself ; but having an assured 
and repeated sense of the original of these vain cus- 
toms, that they rise from pride, self-love, and flattery, 
I dared not gratify that mind in myself or others. 
And for this reason it is, that I am earnest with my 
readers to be cautious how they reprove us on this 
occasion ; and do once more entreat them, that they 
would seriously weigh in themselves, whether it be 
the spirit of the world, or of the Father, that is so 
angry with our honest, plain, and harmless Thou and 
Thee : that so every plant that God, our heavenly 
Father, hath not planted in the sons and daughters of 
men, may be rooted up. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



147 



CHAPTER XI. 

1. Pride leads people to an excessive value of their persons. 2. It is 
plain from the noise that is made about blood and families ; also in 
the case of shape and beauty. 3. Blood no nobility, but virtue. 4. 
Virtue no upstart; antiquity, no nobility without it, else age and 
blood would bar virtue in the present age. 5. God teaches the true 
sense of nobility, who made of one blood all nations : there is the 
original of all blood. 6. These men of blood, out of their feathers, 
look like other men. 7. This is not said to reject, but humble the 
gentleman : the advantages of that condition above others. An ex- 
hortation to recover their lost economy in families, out of interest 
and credit. 8. But the author has a higher motive; the Gospel, and 
the excellencies of it, which they profess. 9. The pride of persons^ 
respecting shape and beauty : the washes, patches, paintings, dress- 
ings, &c. This excess would keep the poor: the mischiefs that at- 
tend it. 10. But pride in the old, and homely, yet more hateful: 
that it is usual. The madness of it. Counsel to the beautiful, to get 
their souls like their bodies; and to the homely, to supply the want 
of that, in the adornment of their lasting part, their souls, with holi- 
ness. Nothing homely with God, but sin. The blessedness of those 
that wear Christ's yoke and cross, and are crucified to the world. 

1. But pride stops not here ; she excites people to 
an excessive value and care of their persons : they 
must have great and punctual attendance, stately fur- 
niture, rich and exact apparel : all which help to make 
up that piide of life, that John tells us, " is not of the 
Father, but of the world." A sin God charged upon 
the haughty daughters of Zion, Isaiah iii., and on the 
proud prince and people of Tyrus, Ezek. xxvii. 28. 
Read these chapters, and measure this age by their 
sins, and what is coming on these nations by their 
judgments. But at the present I shall only touch upon 
the first, viz., the excessive value people have of their 
persons ; leaving the rest to be considered under the 



148 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



last head of this discourse, which is luxury, where 
they may be not improperly placed. 

2. That people are generally proud of their persons, 
is too visible and troublesome : especially if they have 
any pretence either to blood or beauty. The one has 
raised many quarrels among men ; and the other among 
women, and men too often, for their sakes, and at their 
excitements. But to the first : what a pother has this 
noble blood made in the world, antiquity of name or 
family? Whose father or mother, great grandfather 
or great grandmother, was best descended or allied ? 
What stock, or what clan, they came of? What coat 
of arms they gave, or which had, of right, the prece- 
dence ? Methinks, nothing of man's folly has less 
show of reason to palliate it. 

3. For first, what matter is it of whom any one is 
descended, that is not of ill-fame ; since his own virtue 
must raise, or his vice depress him ? An ancestor's 
character is no excuse to a man's ill actions, but an 
aggravation of his degeneracy. Since virtue comes 
not by generation, I am neither the better nor the worse 
for my forefather ; to be sure not in God's account, 
nor should it be in man's. Nobody would endure 
injuries the easier, or reject favours the more, for 
coming by the hand of a man well or ill-descended. 
I confess, it were greater honour to have had no blots, 
and with an hereditary estate to have had a lineal de- 
scent of worth : but that was never found, no, not in 
the most blessed of families upon earth, I mean Abra- 
ham's. To be descended of wealth and titles, fills no 
man's head with brains, or heart with truth : those 
qualities come from an higher cause. It is vanity then, 
and most condemnable pride, for a man of bulk and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWX. 



149 



character to despise another of less size in the world 
and of meaner alliance, for want of them ; because 
the latter may have the merit, where the former has 
only the effects of it in an ancestor. Though the one 
be great, by means of a forefather ; the other is so too, 
but it is by his own ; and which is the braver man of 
the two ? 

4. 0, says the person proud of blood, it was never a 
good world, since we have had so many upstart gen- 
tlemen ! But what should others have said of that 
man's ancestor, when he started up first into the know- 
ledge of the world ? He, and all men and families, aye, 
and all states and kingdoms too, have had their up- 
starts, that is, their beginnings. It is like being the 
true church because old, not because good, for fami- 
lies to be noble by being old, not by being virtuous. 
No such matter : it must be age in virtue, or else 
virtue before age ; for otherwise a man should be 
noble by the means of his predecessor, and yet the 
predecessor less noble than he, because he was the 
acquirer ; which is a paradox that will puzzle all their 
heraldry to explain! Strange, that they should be 
more noble than their ancestor, who got their nobility 
for them ! But if this be absurd, as it is, then the up- 
start is the noble man ; the man who got it by his 
virtue : and those only are entitled to his honour, who 
are imitators of his virtue ; the rest may bear his name 
from his blood, but that is all. If virtue gives nobility*, 
which heathens themselves agree, then families are no 
longer truly noble, than they are virtuous. And if 
virtue go not by blood, but by the qualifications of the 
descendants, it follows that blood is excluded : else 
blood would bar virtue ; and no man who wanted the 
13* 



150 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



one, should be allowed the benefit of the other : 
which were to stint and bound nobility for want of 
antiquity, and to make virtue useless. 

No, let blood and name go together ; but pray let 
nobility and virtue keep company, for they are nearest 
of kin. It is thus fixed by God himself, who best 
knows how to apportion things with an equal and just 
hand. He neither likes nor dislikes by descent ; nor 
does he regard what people w T ere, but are. He re- 
members not the righteousness of any man who leaves 
his righteousness ; much less any unrighteous man for 
the righteousness of his ancestor. 

5. But if these men of blood please to think them- 
selves concerned to believe and reverence God, in his 
Holy Scriptures, they may learn, that in the beginning 
he made of one blood all nations of. men, to dwell 
upon all the face of the earth ; and, that we all de- 
scended of one father and mother. A more certain 
original than the best of us can assign. From thence 
go down to Noah, who was the second planter of the 
human race, and we are upon some certainty for our 
fore-fathers. What violence has raped, or virtue 
merited since, and how far we that are alive are con- 
cerned in either, w T ill be hard for us to determine but 
a very few ages off. 

6. Methinks it should suffice to say, our own eyes 
see that men of blood, out of their gears and trap- 
pings, without their feathers and finery, have no more 
marks of honour by nature stampt upon them, than 
their inferior neighbours. Nay, themselves being 
judges, they will frankly tell us that they feel all those 
passions in their blood, that make them like other men, 
if not farther from the virtue which truly dignifies. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 151 

The lamentable ignorance and debauchery that now 
rages among too many of our greater sort of folk, is too 
clear an evidence in the point : and pray tell me of 
what blood are they come ? 

7. Howbeit, when I have said all this, I intend not, 
by debasing one false quality, to make insolent ano- 
ther. I would not be thought to set the churl upon 
the present gentleman's shoulder ; by no means : his 
rudeness will not mend the matter. But what I have 
written is, to show all where true nobility dwells, that 
every one may arrive at it by the ways of virtue and 
goodness. But for all this, I must allow a great ad- 
vantage to the gentleman; and therefore prefer his 
station, just as the apostle Paul, who, after he had 
humbled the Jews, who insulted the Christians with 
their law and rites, gave them the advantage upon all 
other nations in statutes and judgments. I must grant, 
that the condition of our great men is much to be 
preferred to the rank of inferior people. For first, they 
have more power to do good ; and, if their hearts be 
equal to their ability, they are blessings to the people 
of any country. Secondly, the eyes of the people are 
usually directed to them ; and if they will be kind, 
just, and helpful, they shall have their affections and 
services. Thirdly, they are not under equal straits 
with the inferior sort : and consequently, they have 
more help, leisure, and occasion to polish their pas- 
sions and tempers with books and conversation. 
Fourthly, they have more time to observe the ac- 
tions of other nations ; to travel and view the laws, 
customs and interest of other countries, and bring 
home whatever is worthy or imitable. And so an 
easier way is open for great men to get honour ; and 



152 



NQ CROSS, NO CROWN. 



such as love true reputation, will embrace the best 
means to it. But because it too often happens that 
great men do little mind to give God the glory of their 
prosperity, and to live answerable to his mercies ; but 
on the contrary " live without God in the world," 
fulfilling the lusts thereof, his hand is often seen, either 

CD 7 ' 

in impoverishing or extinguishing them, and raising 
up men of more virtue and humility to their estates 
and dignity. However, I must allow, that among 
people of this rank, there have been some of more 
than ordinary virtue, whose examples have given light 
to their families. And it has been natural for some 
of their descendants to endeavour to keep up the 
credit of their houses, in proportion to the merit of 
their founder. If there be any advantage in such 
descent, it is not from blood, but education : for blood 
has no intelligence in it, and is often spurious and 
uncertain ; but education has a mighty influence, and 
strong bias upon the affections and actions of men. 
In this, the ancient nobles and gentry of this kingdom 
did excel : and it were much to be wished, that our 
great people would set about to recover the ancient 
economy of their houses, the strict and virtuous dis- 
cipline of their ancestors, when men were honoured 
for their achievements, and when nothing exposed a 
man more to shame, than his being born to a nobility 
which he had not virtue to support. 

8. But I have an higher motive, even the glorious 
Gospel of Jesus Christ, which having been taught in 
this northern isle, and all ranks professing to believe 
in it, let me prevail upon you to seek the honour it 
has brought from heaven, to all the true disciples of 
it, who are indeed the followers of God's Lamb, who 



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153 



"takes away the sins of the world." Receive with 
meekness his gracious word into your hearts. It sub- 
dues the world's lusts, and leads in the holy way to 
blessedness. Here are charms no carnal eye hath 
seen, nor ear heard, nor heart perceived ; but they are 
revealed to such humble converts by his spirit. Re- 
member you are but creatures, and that you must die, 
and after all be judged. 

9. But personal pride ends not in nobility of blood. 
It leads folks to a fond value of their persons, be they 
noble or ignoble ; especially if they have any pretence 
to shape or beauty. It is admirable to see, how much 
it is possible for some to be taken with themselves, as 
if nothing else deserved their regard, or the good 
opinion of others. It would abate their folly, if they 
could find in their hearts to spare but half the time to 
think of God and their latter end, which they most 
prodigally spend in washing, perfuming, painting, 
patching, attiring and dressing. In these things they 
are precise, and very artificial ; and for cost they spare 
not. But that which aggravates the evil is, the pride 
of one might comfortably supply the need of ten. 
" Gross impiety it is, that a nation's pride should not 
be spared to a nation's poor !" But what is this for, 
at last ? Only to be admired, to have reverence, draw 
love, and command the eyes and affections of the be- 
holders. And so fantastic are they in it, as hardly to 
be pleased too. Nothing is good, or fine, or fashiona- 
ble enough for them : the sun itself, the blessing of 
heaven and comfort of the earth, must not shine upon 
them, lest it tan them, nor the wind blow, for fear it 
should disorder them. impious nicety ! Yet while 
they value themselves above all else, they make them- 



154 



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selves the vassals of their own pride, worshipping 
their shape, feature or complexion, which ever is their 
excellency. The end of all this is, too often, to 
excite unlawful love, which I call lust, and draw one 
another into as miserable as evil circumstances. In 
single persons it is of ill consequence ; for if it does 
not awaken unchaste desires, it lays no foundation 
for solid and lasting union : the want of which helps 
to make so many unhappy marriages in the world. 
In married people the sin is aggravated : for they have 
none of right to please, but one another ; and to affect 
the gaiety and vanity of youth, is an ill sign of loving 
and living well at home ; it looks rather like dressing 
for a market. It has ' sad effects in families ; discon- 
tents, partings, duels, poisonings, and other infamous 
murders. No age can better tell the sad effects of this 
sort of pride, than this we live in ; for as it is exces- 
sively wanton, so how fatal it has been to sobriety, 
virtue, and to the peace and health of families in this 
kingdom. 

10. But I must needs say, that of all creatures this 
sort of pride least becomes the old and homely, if I 
may call the ill-favoured and deformed so ? for the 
old are proud only of what they had ; which shows, to 
their reproach, that their pride has out-lived their 
beauty, and when they should be repenting, they are 
making work for repentance. But the homely are yet 
worse, they are proud of what they never had, nor 
ever can have. Nay, their persons seem as if they 
were given for a perpetual humiliation to their minds : 
and to be proud of them, is loving pride for pride's 
sake, and to be proud without a temptation. And yet 
in my whole life I have observed nothing more do at- 



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155 



ing on itself : Strange infatuation and enchantment of 
pride ! what ! not to see right with their eyes, because 
of the partiality of their minds ? This self-love is blind 
indeed. But to add expense to the vanity, and to be 
costly upon that which cannot be mended, one would 
think they were downright mad ; especially if they 
consider that they look the homelier for the things that 
are thought handsome, and do but draw their deformi- 
ty more into notice, by that which does so little be- 
come them. 

In the follies of such persons we have a specimen 
of man ; what a creature he is in the lapse from his pri- 
mitive image. All this, as Jesus said of sin of old, 
comes from within ; from the disregard man and wo- 
man have to the word of their Creator in their hearts, 
which shows pride, and teaches humility and self- 
abasement, and directs the mind to the true objects of 
honour and worship, with an awe and reverence suit- 
able to his sovereignty and majesty. Poor mortals ! 
but living dirt, made of what they tread on ; who, with 
all their pride, cannot secure themselves from the 
spoil of sickness, much less from the stroke of death. 
O ! did people consider the inconsistency of all visi- 
ble things, the eross and adverse occurrences of man's 
life, the certainty of his departure, and of eternal judg- 
ment, it is to be hoped, they would bring their deeds 
to Christ's light in their hearts, and see if they were 
wrought in God or no, as the beloved disciple tells us 
from his dear Master's mouth. Art thou shapely, 
comely, beautiful : the exact draught of an human 
creature ? Admire that Power that made thee so. Live 
an harmonious life to the curious make and frame of 
thy creation ; and let the beauty of thy body teach 



156 



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thee to beautify thy mind with holiness, the ornament 
of the beloved of God. Art thou homely or deform- 
ed ? magnify that goodness which did not make thee a 
beast; and with the grace that is given unto thee, (for 
it has appeared unto all,) learn to adorn thy soul with 
enduring beauty. Remember the King of heaven's 
daughter, the church of which true Christians are mem- 
bers, is all glorious within : and if thy soul excel, thy 
body will only set off the lustle of thy mind. Nothing 
is homely in God's right but sin. That man and wo- 
man, who commune with their own hearts, and sin not ; 
who in the light of holy Jesus, watch over the movings 
and inclinations of their own souls, and suppress 
every evil in its conception, they love the yoke and 
cross of Christ, and are daily by it crucified to the 
world, but live to God in that life, which outlives the 
fading satisfactions of it. 



CHAPTER XII. 

1. The character of a proud man : a glutton upon himself. Is proud 
of his pedigree. 2. He is insolent and quarrelsome, but cowardly, 
yet cruel. 3. An ill child, subject and servant. 4. Unhospitable. 
5. No friend to any. 6. Dangerous and mischievous in power. 7. Of 
all things pride is bad in ministers. 8. They claim prerogative above 
others. 9. And call themselves the clergy : their lordliness and 
avarice. 10. Death swallows all. 11. The way to escape these 
evils. 

1. To conclude this great head of pride let us 
briefly see upon the whole matter, what is the charac- 
ter of a proud man in himself, and in divers relations 



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157 



and capacities. A proud man then is a kind of glut- 
ton upon himself, for he is never satisfied with loving 
and admiring himself ; whilst nothing else with him 
is worthy either of love or care. If good enough to be 
the servant of his will, it is as much as he can find 
in his heart to allow ; as if he had been only made 
for himself, or rather that he had made himself. 
For as he despises man, because he cannot abide 
an equal, so he does not love God, because he 
would not have a superior. He cannot bear to owe 
his being to another, lest he should thereby acknow- 
ledge one above himself. He is one who is big with 
the honour of his ancestors, but not of the virtue that 
brought them to it ; much less will he trouble himself 
to imitate them. He can tell you of his pedigree, his 
antiquity, what estate, what matches; but forgets that 
they are gone, and that he must die too. 

2. How troublesome a companion is a proud man | 
Ever positive and controlling, and if you yield not, 
insolent and quarrelsome : yet in the end cowardly ; 
but if strongest, cruel. He has no compassion for ad- 
versity, as if it were below him to be sensible : he 
feels no more of other men's miseries, than if he was 
not a man, or it was a sin to be sensible. Not feeling 
himself interested, he looks no farther ; he will not 
disquiet his thoughts with other men's infelicities : it 
shall content him to believe they are just: and he had 
rather churlishly upbraid them as the cause, than be 
ready to commiserate or relieve them. Compassion 
and charity are with him as useless, as humility and 
meekness are hateful, 

3. A proud man makes an ill child, servant and 
subject: he contemns his parents, master and prince : 

14 



158 



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he will not be subject. He thinks himself too wise, 
or too old, to be directed ; as if it were a slavish thing 
to obey ; and that none were free, who may not do 
what they please ; which turns duty out of doors, and. 
degrades authority. On the other hand, if he be an 
husband, or father, or master, there is scarcely any en- 
during him. He is so insufferably curious and testy, 
that it is an affliction to live with him : for hardly can 
any hand carry it even enough to please him. Some 
peccadillo about his clothes, his diet, his lodging, or 
attendance, quite disorders him ; but especially if he 
fancies any want in the state and respect he looks for. 
Thus pride destroys the nature of relations : on the 
one side, it learns to contemn duty ; on the other side, 
it turns love into fear, and makes the wife a servant, 
and the children and servants, slaves. 

4. The proud man makes an ill neighbour too ; for 
he is an enemy to hospitality : he despises to receive 
kindness, because he would not show any, nor be 
thought to need it. Besides, it looks too equal and 
familiar for his haughty humour. Emulation and de- 
traction are his element; for he is jealous of attribut- 
ing any praise to others, even where it is just, lest 
that should cloud and lessen him, to whom it never 
could be due. He is the man that fears what he should 
wish, to wit, that others should do well. But that is 
not all: he maliciously miscalls their acts of virtue, 
which his corruptions will not let him imitate, that 
they may get no credit by them. If he wants any oc- 
casion of doing mischief, he can make one ; either, 
they use him ill, or have some design upon him ; the 
other day they paid him not the cap and knee ; the 
distance and respect he thinks his quality, parts, or 
merits require. A small thing serves a proud man to 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN; 159 

pick a quarrel. He is, of all creatures the most jea- 
lous, sullen, spiteful, and revengeful : he can no more 
forgive an injury, than forbear to do one. 

5. Nor is this all ; a proud man can never be a 
Mend to any body. For besides that his ambition 
may always be bribed by honour and preferment to 
betray that relation, he is unconversible ; he must not 
be catechised and counselled, much less reproved or 
contradicted. He is too covetous of himself to spare 
another man a share, and much too high, stiff, and 
touchy ; he will not away with those freedoms that 
real friendship requires. To say true, he contemns 
the character ; it is much too familiar and humble for 
him : his mighty soul would know nothing besides him- 
self, and vassals to stock the world. He values other 
men as we do cattle, for their service only, and if he 
could, would use them so ; but as it happens, the num- 
ber and force are unequal. 

6. A proud man in power is very mischievous ; for 
his pride is the more dangerous by his greatness, since 
from ambition in private men, it becomes tyranny in 
them : it would reign alone ; nay live so, rather than 
have competitors: ant Ccesar, out nullus* Reason 
must not check, nor rules of law limit it ; and either 
it can do no wrong, or it is sedition to complain of the 
wrong that it does. The men of this temper would 
have nothing they do thought amiss ; at least, they 
count it dangerous to allow it to be so, though so it 
be ; for this would imply they had erred, which it is 
always matter of state to deny. No, they will rather 
choose to perish obstinately, than by acknowledging, 
yield to inferiors the reputation of better judging ; 

* " Cssar, or nobody," 



160 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



though it were their prudence to do so. Indeed, it is 
all the satisfaction proud great men make to the world, 
for the miseries they often bring upon it, that first or 
last, upon a division, they leave their real interest to 
follow some one excess of humour, and are almost ever 
destroyed by it. This is the end pride gives proud 
men, and the ruin it brings upon them, after it has 
punished others by them. 

7. But above all things, pride is intolerable in men 
pretending to religion ; and, of them, especially in 
ministers ; for they are names of the greatest contra- 
diction. I speak without respect or anger to persons 
or parties ; for I only touch upon the bad of all. What 
shall pride do with religion, that rebukes it? or am- 
bition with ministers, whose very office is humility ? 
And yet there are too many of them, who, besides an 
equal guilt with others in the fleshly pride of the world, 
are even proud of that name and office, which ought 
always to remind them of self-denial. They use it as 
the beggars do the name of God and Christ, only to 
get by it : placing to their own account the advan- 
tages of that reverend profession, and thereby making 
their function but a politic handle to raise themselves 
to the great preferments of the world. But, O then 
how can such be his ministers, that said, " My king- 
dom is not of this world ?" Who is there of mankind, 
more self-conceited than these men? If contradicted, 
they are as arrogant and angry as if it were their call- 
ing to be so. Counsel one of them, and he scorns 
you ; reprove him, and he is almost ready to excom- 
municate you. " I am a minister and an elder :" fly- 
ing thither to secure himself from the reach of just 
censure, which indeed exposes him but the more to it ; 



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161 



and therefore his fault cannot be the less, for how 
much worse is it in a minister to do ill, and spurn at 
reproof, than an ordinary man. 

8. But he pleads an exemption by his office ! What ! 
shall he breed up chickens to pick out his own eyes ? 
be rebuked or instructed by a layman, or parishioner ! 
a man of less age, learning or ability ! no such mat- 
ter ; he would have us believe that his ministerial 
prerogative has placed him out of the reach of popular 
impeachment : He is not subject to vulgar judgments. 
Even questions about religion are schism. Believe 
as he says ; it is not for you to pry so curiously into 
the mysteries of religion. It was never a good day 
since lay-men meddled so much with the minister's 
office. Not considering, poor man ! that the contrary 
is most true ; not many good days since ministers 
meddled so much in laymen's business ; though per- 
haps there is little reason for the distinction except 
spiritual gifts, and the improvement of them by dili- 
gent use, for the good of others. 

Such good sayings as these, " Be ready to teach ; 
answer with meekness : let every man speak as of the 
gift of God, that is in him : if anything be revealed to 
him that sits by, let the first hold his peace ; be not 
lords over God's heritage, but meek and lowly : washing 
the feet of the people, as Jesus did those of his poor 
disciples," are unreasonable and antiquated instruc- 
tions with some clergy. It is little less than heresy to 
remember them of these things ; and a mark of great 
disaffection to the church, in their opinion. Their 
pride has made them the church, and the people but 
the porch at best ; a cipher that signifies nothing, 
unless they clap their figure before it ; forgetting, that 
14* 



162 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



if they were as good as they should be, they could be 
but ministers, stewards, and under-shepherds ; that is, 
servants to the church, family%, flock and heritage of 
God ; and not that they are that church, family, flock, 
and heritage, to which they are only servants. Re- 
member the words of Christ, " Let him that would be 
greatest be your servant." 

9. There is but one place to be found in the Holy 
Scripture, where the word clerus (ju^cs) can properly 
be applied to the church, and they have got it to 
themselves ; from whence they call themselves the 
clergy, that is, the inheritance or heritage of God. 
Whereas Peter exhorts the ministers of the Gospel, 
" not to be lords over God's heritage, nor to feed them 
for filthy lucre." Peter foresaw pride and avarice to 
be the ministers' temptations ; and indeed they have 
often proved their fall : and, to say true, they could 
hardly fall by worse. Nor is there any excuse to be 
made for them in these two respects, which is not 
worse than their sin. For if they have not been lords 
over God's heritage, it is because they have made 
themselves that heritage, and disinherited the people ; 
so that now they may be the people's lords, with a 
salvo to good old Peter's exhortation. 

And for the other sin of avarice, they can only 
avoid it and speak truth, thus, " that never feeding 
the flock, they cannot be said to feed it for lucre ;" 
that is, they get the people's money for nothing. An 
example of which is given us, by the complaint of 
God himself, from the practice of the proud, covetous, 
false prophets of old, " that the people gave their 
money for that which was not bread, and their labour 
for that which did not profit them :" and why? Be- 



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163 



cause then the priest had no vision ; and too many 
now despise it. 

10. But alas ! when all is done, what folly, as well 
as irreligion, is there in pride ? It cannot add one 
cubit to any man's stature. • What crosses can it 
hinder ? What disappointments help, or what harm 
frustrate ? It delivers not from the common stroke ; 
sickness disfigures : pain mis-shapes ; and death ends 
the proud man's fabric. Six feet of cold earth bounds 
his big thoughts ; and his person, which was too good 
for any place, must at last lodge within the straight 
limits of so little and so dark a cave ; and he who 
thought nothing well enough for him, is quickly the 
entertainment of the lowest of all animals, even worms 
themselves. Thus pride and pomp come to the com- 
mon end ; but with this difference, less pity from the 
living, and more pain to the dying. The proud man's 
antiquity cannot secure him from death, nor his heral- 
dry from judgment. Titles of honour vanish at this 
extremity ; and no power or wealth, no distance or 
respect can rescue or insure them : as the tree falls, it 
lies ; and as death leaves men, judgment finds them. 

11. 0! what can prevent this ill conclusion? and 
what can remedy this woful declension from ancient 
meekness, humility, and piety, and that godly life and 
power, which were so conspicuous in the authority of 
the preaching, and examples of the living, of the first 
and purest ages of Christianity ! Truly, nothing but 
an inward and sincere examination, by the testimony 
of the holy light and spirit of Jesus, of the condition 
of their souls towards Christ, and a better inquiry into 
the matter and examples of holy record. It was his 
complaint of old, " that light, was come into the 



164 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 



world, but men loved darkness rather than light, 
because their deeds were evil." If thou wouldest be 
a child of God, and a believer in Christ, thou must 
be a child of light. Thou must bring thy deeds to it, 
and examine them by that holy lamp in thy soul, which 
is the candle of the Lord, that shows thee thy pride 
and arrogancy, and reproves thy delight in the vain 
fashions of this world. 

Religion is a denial of self ; yea of self-religion too. 
It is a firm tie or bond upon the soul to holiness, 
whose end is happiness ; for by it men come to see 
the Lord. " The pure in heart," says Jesus, " see 
God:" he that once comes to bear Christ's yoke, is 
not carried away by the devil's allurements ; he finds 
excelling joys in his watchfulness and obedience. If 
men loved the cross of Christ, his precepts and doc- 
trine, they would cross their own wills, which lead 
them to break Christ's holy will, and lose their own 
souls in doing the devil's. Had Adam minded that 
holy light in paradise more than the serpent's bait, and 
stayed his mind upon his Creator, the rewarder of 
fidelity, he had seen the snare of the enemy, and re- 
sisted him. do not delight in that which is forbid- 
den ! look not upon it, if thou wouldest not be capti- 
vated by it. Bring not the guilt of the sins of know- 
ledge upon thy soul. Did Christ submit his will to 
his Father's, and, for the joy that was set before him, 
endure the cross, and despise the shame of a new and 
untrodden way to glory ? Thou also must submit thy 
will to Christ's holy law and light in thy heart, and 
for the rew T ard he sets before thee, to wit, eternal life, 
endure his cross, and despise the shame of it. All 
desire to rejoice with him, but few will suffer with 



JTO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



165 



him, or for hirn. Many are the companions of his 
table : not many of his abstinence. The loaves they 
follow, but the cup of his agony they leave. It is too 
bitter : they like not to drink thereof. And many will 
magnify his miracles, who are offended at the igno- 
miny of his cross. But, man ! as he for thy salva- 
tion, so thou for the love of him, must humble thyself, 
and be contented to be of no reputation that thou 
mayest follow him ; not in a carnal, formal way, of 
vain man's tradition and prescription, but as the Holy 
Ghost by the apostle doth express it, " In the new and 
living way," which Jesus hath consecrated, that brings 
all who walk in it to the eternal rest of God : where- 
into he himself is entered, who is the holy and only 
blessed Redeemer. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

J. Avarice, the second capital lust, its definition and distinction. 2. It 
consists in a desire of unlawful things. 3. As in David's case about 
Uriah's wife. 4. Also Ahab's about Naboth's vineyard. 5. Next, 
in unlawful desires of lawful things. 6. Covetousness is a mark of 
false prophets. 7. A reproach to religion. 8. An enemy to govern- 
ment. 9. Treacherous. 10. Oppressive. 11. Judas an example. 
12. So Simon Magus. 13. Lastly, in unprofitable hoarding of mo- 
ney. 14. The covetous man a common evil. 15. His hypocrisy. 
16. Gold his god. 17. He is sparing to death. 18. Is reproved by 
Christ and his followers. 19. Ananias and Sapphira's sin and judg- 
ment. 20. William Tindal's discourse on that subject referred to. 
21. Peter Charron's testimony against it. 22. Abraham Cowley's 
witty and sharp satire upon it. 



1. I am come to the second part of this discourse, 
which is avarice or covetousness, an epidemical and 



166 



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a raging distemper in the world, attended with all the 
mischiefs that can make men miserable in themselves, 
and in society. It is so near akin to the foregoing 
evil, pride, that they are seldom apart; liberality being 
almost as hateful to the proud as to the covetous. I 
shall define it thus : Covetousness is the love of money 
or riches, " which," as the apostle hath it, " is the root 
of all evil." It brancheth itself into these three parts. 
First, Desiring of unlawful things. Secondly, Unlaw- 
fully desiring of lawful things. And lastly, Hoarding 
up, or unprofitably withholding the benefit of them 
from the relief of private persons, or the public. I 
shall first deliver the sense of Scripture, and what ex- 
amples are therein afforded against this impiety ; and 
next, my own reasons, with some authorities of credit; 
by which it will appear, that the working of the love 
of riches out of the hearts of people is as much the 
business of the cross of Christ, as the rooting out of 
any one sin that man is fallen into. 

2. And first, of desiring or coveting unlawful things. 
It is expressly forbidden by God himself, in the law 
he delivered to Moses upon Mount Sinai, for a rule to 
his people, the Jews, to walk by: " Thou shalt not 
covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy 
neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid- 
servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is 
thy neighbour's." This, God confirmed by thunder- 
ings and lightnings, and other sensible solemnities, to 
strike the people with more awe in receiving and 
keeping it, and to make the breach of these moral 
precepts more terrible to them. Micah complains in 
his time, " They covet fields, and take them by vio- 
lence/' but their end was misery. Therefore was it 



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167 



said of old, " Woe to them that covet an evil covet- 
ousness :" this is to our point. We have many re- 
markable instances of this in Scripture ; two of which 
I shall briefly report. 

3. David, though otherwise a good man, by nn- 
watchfulness is taken ; the beauty of Uriah's wife was 
too hard for him, being disarmed, and off from his 
spiritual watch. There was no dissuasive would do. 
Uriah must be put on a desperate service, where it 
was great odds if he survived it. This was to hasten 
the unlawful satisfaction of his desires by a way that 
. looked not like direct murder. The contrivance took : 
Uriah is killed, and his wife is quickly David's. This 
interpreted David's covetousness. But went it off so ? 
No. " His pleasure soon turned to anguish and bit- 
terness of spirit: his soul was overwhelmed with 
sorrow : the waves went over his head : he was con- 
sumed within him : he stuck in the mire and clay ; he 
cried, he wept ; yea, his eyes were as a fountain of 
tears. Guiltiness was upon him, and he must be 
purged ; his sins washed white as snow, that were as 
red as crimson, or he is undone forever." His repent- 
ance prevailed : behold, what work this part of covet- 
ousness makes ! what evil, what sorrow ! O that the 
people of this covetousness would let the sense of 
David's sorrows sink deep into their souls, that they 
might come to David's salvation! "Restore me," 
saith that good man : it seems he once knew a better 
state : yes, and this may teach the better sort to fear, 
and stand in awe too, lest they sin, and fall. For 
David was taken at a disadvantage : he was off his 
watch, and gone from the cross : the law was not his 
lamp and light, at that instant : he was a wanderer 



168 



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from his safety, his strong tower, and so surprised : 
then and there it was the enemy met him and van- 
quished him. 

4. The second instance is that of Naboth's vine- 
yard : it was coveted by Ahab and Jezebel : that 
which led them to such an unlawful desire, found 
means to accomplish it. Naboth must die, for -he 
w T ould not sell it. To do it, they accuse the innocent 
man of blasphemy, and find two knights of the post, 
sons of Belial, to evidence against him. Thus, in the 
name of God, and in a show of pure zeal to his glory, 
Naboth must die, and accordingly was stoned to death. 
The news coming to Jezebel, she bid Ahab arise and 
take possession, for Naboth was dead : but God fol- 
lowed both of them with his fierce vengeance. " In 
the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth," 
saith Elijah in the name of the Lord, " shall dogs lick 
thy blood, even thine : and I will bring evil upon 
thee, and take away thy posterity:" and of Jezebel, 
his wife and partner in this covetousness and murder, 
he adds, " the dogs shall eat her flesh by the walls of 
Jezreel." Here is the infamy and punishment due to 
this part of covetousness. Let this deter those who 
desire unlawful things, the rights of others : for God, 
who is just, will certainly repay such with interest in 
the end. But perhaps these are few ; either that they 
do not, or dare not show it, because the law will bite, 
if they do. But the next part hath company enough, 
who will yet exclaim against the iniquity of this part 
of covetousness ; and by their seeming abhorrence of 
it, would excuse themselves of all guilt in the rest : 
let us consider that. 

5. The next and most common part of covetousness 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 169 

is, the unlawful desire of lawful things ; especially of 
riches. Money is lawful, but " the love of it is the 
root of all evil," if the man of God say true. So 
riches are lawful ; but they that pursue them, " fall 
into divers temptations, snares, and lusts," if the same 
good man say right. He calls them "uncertain," to 
show their folly and danger, who set their hearts upon 
them. Covetousness is hateful to God : he hath de- 
nounced great judgments upon those that are guilty of 
it. God charged it on Israel of old, as one of the 
reasons of his judgments : " For the iniquity of his 
covetousness was I wroth, and smote him." In an- 
other place, " Every one is given to covetousness ; 
and from the prophet to the priest, ever}' one dealeth 
falsely ; therefore will I give their wives unto others, 
and their fields to them that shall inherit them." In 
another place, God complained thus : " But thine eyes 
and thy heart are not but for thy covetousness." By 
Ezekiel, God renews and repeats his complaint against 
their covetousness : " and they come to thee as the 
people cometh, and sit before thee as my people : they 
hear thy words, but will not do them ; with their 
mouths they show much love, but their hearts go after 
covetousness." Therefore God, in the choice of ma- 
gistrates, made it a part of their qualification, to hate 
covetousness ; foreseeing the mischief that would fol- 
low to that society or government where covetous men 
were in power ; that self would bias them, and they 
would seek their own ends at the cost of the public. 
David desired, "that his heart might not incline to 
covetousness, but to the testimonies of his God." The 
wise man expressly tells us, that " He that hateth 
covetousness, shall prolong his days ;" making a curse 
15 



170 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



to follow it. It is by Luke charged upon the Phari- 
sees, as a mark of their wickedness ; and Christ, in 
that evangelist, bids his followers " take heed and 
beware of covetousness ;" giving a reason for it, that 
carrieth a most excellent instruction in it ; " for (saith 
he) a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the 
things which he possesseth." But he goeth farther; 
and joins covetousness with adultery, murder, and 
blasphemy. No wonder then if the apostle Paul is so 
liberal in his censure of this evil : he placeth it, with 
all unrighteousness, to the Romans : to the Ephesians 
he writeth the like ; and addeth, " Let not covetous- 
ness be so much as named among you ;" he bids the 
Colossians, " mortify their members ;" and names sev- 
eral sins, as fornication, uncleanness, and such like, 
but ends with covetousness ; with this at the tail of it, 
which is idolatry. And we know there is not a greater 
offence against God : nay, this very apostle calls " the 
love of money the root of all evil ; which while some 
have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and 
pierced themselves through with divers sorrows : for 
they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, 
and many foolish and hurtful lusts. man of God," 
saith he to his beloved friend Timothy, " flee these 
things, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, pa- 
tience, and meekness." 

6. Peter was of the same mind; for he maketh 
covetousness to be one of the great marks of the false 
prophets and teachers, that should arise among the 
Christians ; by which they might know them ; " Who 
(saith he) through covetousness, shall, with feigned 
words, make merchandise of you." To conclude, the 
author to the Hebrews, at the end of his epistle, leaves 



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171 



this, with other things, with great zeal and weight 
upon them : " Let your conversation be without covet- 
ousness." He rests not in this generality, but goes 
on, " and be content with such things as you have ; 
for God hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
thee." What then? Must we conclude that those 
who are not content, but seek to be rich, have forsaken 
God ? The conclusion seems hard ; but yet it is na- 
tural. For such, it is plain, are not content with what 
they have ; they would have more ; they covet to be 
rich, if they may ; they live not with those dependen- 
cies and regards to Providence, to which they are 
exhorted ; nor is godliness, with content, great gain 
to them. 

7. Truly it is a reproach to a man, especially the 
religious man, that he knows not when he hath enough ; 
or when to leave off, and be satisfied. That notwith- 
standing God sends him one plentiful season of gain 
after another, he is so far from making that the cause 
of withdrawing from the traffic of the world, that he 
makes it a reason of launching farther into it ; as if 
the more he hath, the more he may have. He there- 
fore reneweth his appetite, bestirs himself more than 
ever, that he may have his share in the scramble, 
while anything is to be got. This is as if cumber, 
not retirement, and gain, not content, were the duty 
and comfort of a Christian. ! that this thing was 
better considered : for by not being so observable nor 
obnoxious to the law as other vices are, there is the 
more danger, for want of that check. It is plain that 
most people strive not for substance, but wealth. 
Some there be who love it strongly, and spend it libe- 
rally, when they have got it. Though this be sinful, 



172 



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yet more commendable than to love money for money's 
sake. This is one of the basest passions the mind 
of man can be captivated with : a perfect lust ; and a 
greater, and more soul-defiling one, there is not in the 
whole catalogue of concupiscence. This considered, 
should quicken people into a serious examination, how 
far this temptation of love of money hath entered them ; 
and the rather, because the steps it maketh into the 
mind are almost insensible, which renders the danger 
greater. 

Thousands think themselves unconcerned in the 
caution, who yet are perfectly guilty of the evil. How 
can it be otherwise, when those that have, from a low 
condition, acquired thousands, labour yet to advance, 
yea, double and treble those thousands ; and that with 
the same care and contrivance by which they got them. 
Is this to live comfortably, or to be rich ? Do we not 
see how early they rise ; how late they go to bed ? 
how full of the exchange, the shop, the ware-house, 
the custom-house ; of bills, bonds, charter-parties, &c, 
they are ? running up and down, as if it were to save 
the life of a condemned innocent. An insatiable lust, 
and therein ungrateful to God, as well as hurtful to 
men ; who giveth it to them to use, and not to love : 
this is the abuse. And if this care, contrivance, and 
industry, and that continually, be not from the love of 
money, in those who have ten times more than they 
began with, and much more than they spend or need, 
I know not what testimony a man can give of his love 
to anything. 

8. To conclude, It is an enemy to government in 
magistrates; for it tends to corruption. Wherefore, 
those that God ordained, were such as feared him, and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 173 

hated covetousness. Next, it hurts society ; for old 
traders keep the young ones poor : and the great rea- 
son why some have too little, and so are forced to 
drudge like slaves to feed their families, and keep 
their chin above water, is, because the rich hold fast, 
and press to be richer, and covet more, which dries 
up the little streams of profit from smaller folks. There 
should be a standard, both as to the value and time of 
traffic; and then the trade of the master to be shared 
among his servants who deserve it. This were both 
to help the young to get their livelihood, and to give 
the old time to think of leaving this world well, in 
which they have been so busy ; that they might obtain 
a share in the other, of which they have been so 
careless. 

9. There is yet another mischief to government ; for 
covetousness leads men to abuse .and defraud it, by 
concealing or falsifying the goods they deal in : as 
bringing in forbidden goods by stealth, or lawful goods, 
so as to avoid the payment of dues, or owning the 
goods of enemies for gain ; or that they are not well 
made, or full measure ; with abundance of that sort of 
deceit. 

10. Covetousness has caused destructive feuds in 
families ; for estates falling into the hands of those, 
whose avarice has put them upon drawing greater pro- 
fit to themselves than was consistent with justice, has 
given birth to much trouble, and caused great oppres- 
sion. It too often falling out, that such executors have 
kept the right owners out of possession with the money 
they should pay them. 

11. But this is not all; for covetousness betrays 
friendship : a bribe cannot be better placed to do an 

15* 



174 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

ill thing, or undo a man. Nay, it is a murderer too 
often, both of soul and body : of the soul, because it 
kills that life it should have in God ; where money 
masters the mind, it extinguishes all love to better 
things : of the body, for it will kill for money, by as- 
sassinations, poisons, false witness, &c. I shall end 
this head of covetousness, with the sin and doom of 
two covetous men, Judas and Simon Magus. 

Judas's religion fell in thorny ground : love of mo- 
ney choked it. Pride and anger in the Jews endea- 
voured to murder Christ ; but till covetousness set her 
hand to effect it, they were all at a loss. They found 
Judas had the bag, and probably loved money ; they 
would therefore try him, and did. The price was set, 
and Judas betrays his Master, his Lord, who never did 
him wrong, into the hands of his most cruel adversa- 
ries. But to do him right, he returned the money, and 
to be revenged of himself, was his own hangman. A 
wicked act, a wicked end. Come on ye covetous ! 
What say ye now to brother Judas ? Was he not an 
ill man? Did he not very wickedly? Yes, yes. 
Would you have done so ? No, no, by no means ! 
Very well ; but so said those evil Jews of stoning the 
prophets, and who yet crucified the beloved Son of 
God ; he that came to save them, and would have 
done it, if they had received him, and not rejected the 
day of their visitation. Rub your eyes well, for the 
dust has got into them ; and carefully read in your 
own consciences, and see, if, out of love to money, 
you would not have betrayed the just One in your- 
selves, and so are brethren with Judas in iniquity. I 
speak for God against an idol ; bear with me : have 
you not resisted, yea, quenched many time the good 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



175 



Spirit of Christ, in your pursuit after your beloved 
wealth ? " Examine yourselves, try yourselves ; know 
ye not your own selves, that if Christ dwell not, (if he 
rule not, and be not above all beloved) in you, ye are 
reprobates in an undone condition ? 

12. The other covetous man is Simon Magus, a be- 
liever too ; but his faith could not go deep enough for 
covetousness. He would have driven a bargain with 
Peter, so much money for so much Holy Ghost ; that 
he might sell it again, and make a good trade of it ; 
corruptly measuring Peter by himself, as if he had only 
a better knack of cozening the people than himself, 
who set up in Samaria for the great power of God, 
before the power of God in Philip and Peter undeceiv- 
ed the people. But what was Peter's answer and 
judgment ? " Thy money perish with thee : thou hast 
neither part nor lot in this matter : thou art in the gall 
of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity :" a dismal 
sentence. 

Besides, it tends to luxury, and rises often out of 
it : for from having much they spend much, and so 
become poor by luxury : such are covetous to get, to 
spend more, which temperance would prevent. For 
if men would not, or could not, by good laws well ex- 
ecuted, and a better education, be so lavish in their 
tables, houses, furniture, apparel, and gaming, there 
would be no such temptation to covet earnestly after 
what they could not spend : for there is but here and 
there a miser who loves money for money's sake : 

13. This leads to the last and basest part of covet- 
ousness, which is yet the most sordid : to wit, hoard- 
ing up, or keeping money unprofitably, both to others 
and themselves too. This is Solomon's miser, "that 



176 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



makes himself rich, and hath nothing : a great sin in 
the sight of God. He complained of such as had 
stored up the labours of the poor in their houses ; he 
calls it their spoils, and that it is grinding the poor, be- 
cause they see it not again. But he blesseth those who 
consider the poor, and commandeth every one, u to 
open freely to his brother who is in need ;" not only 
he that is spiritually, but naturally so ; and, not to 
withhold his gift from the poor. The apostle chargeth 
Timothy in the sight of God, and before Jesus Christ, 
" that he fail not to charge them that are rich in this 
world, that they trust not in their uncertain riches, but 
in the living God, who giveth liberally ; and that they 
do good with them, that they may may be rich in good 
works." 

Riches are apt to corrupt ; and that which keeps 
them sweet and best, is charity. He who uses them 
not, gets them not for the end for which they are 
given ; but loves them for themselves, and not their 
service. The avaricious is poor in his wealth: he 
wants for fear of spending, and increases his fear with 
his hope, which is his gain, and so tortures himself 
with his pleasure. He is the most like the man that 
hid his talent in a napkin, of all others ; for this man's 
talents are hid in his bags, out of sight, in vaults, 
under boards, behind wainscots ; else upon bonds and 
mortgages, growing only under ground ; for it doth 
good to none. 

14. This covetous man is a monster in nature ; for 
he has no bowels ; and is, like the poles, always cold. 
An enemy to the state, for he spirits their money 
away. A disease to the body politic, for he obstructs 
the circulation of the blood, and ought to be removed 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



177 



by a purge of the law : for these are vices at heart, 
that destroy by wholesale. The covetous hates all 
useful arts and sciences, as vain, lest they should cost 
him something for learning : wherefore ingenuity has 
no more place in his mind, than in his pocket. He 
lets houses fall, to prevent the charge of repairs. His 
spare diet, plain clothes, and mean furniture, he would 
place to the account of moderation. monster of a 
man ! that can take up the cross for covetousness, and 
not for Christ. 

15. But he pretends negatively to some religion too ; 
for he always rails at prodigality, the better to cover 
his avarice. If you would bestow a box of spikenard 
on a good man's head ; to save money, and to seem 
righteous, he tells you of the poor. If the poor come, 

* he excuses his want of charity with the unworthiness 
of the object, or the causes of his poverty, or that he 
can bestow his money upon those who deserve it bet- 
ter ; but rarely opens his purse till quarter day, for 
fear of losing it. 

16. He is more miserable than the poorest ; for he 
enjoys not what he yet fears to lose ; they fear not 
what they do not enjoy. Thus is he poor by over- 
valuing his wealth ; he is wretched, that hungers with 
money in a cook's shop : yet having made a god of his 
gold, who knows, but he thinks it unnatural to eat 
what he worships ? 

17. What aggravates this sin is, as I have myself 
once known, that to get money, some have wearied 
themselves into the grave ; and to be true to their 
principle, when sick, would not spare a fee to a doc- 
tor, to help the poor slave to live ; and so died to save 
charges : a constancy that canonizes them martyrs for 
money. 



178 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



18. Let us now see what instances the Scripture 
will give us in proof of the sordid hoarders and hiders 
of money. A goodly young man came to Christ, and 
inquired the way to eternal life ; Christ told him he 
knew the commandments : he replied, he had kept 
them from his youth ; it seems he was no loose per- 
son, and indeed such are usually not so, to save 
charges ; " and yet lackest thou one thing (saith Christ) 
sell all, distribute it to the poor, and thou shalt have 
treasure in heaven, and come and follow me." It 
seems Christ pinched him in the sore place ; he hit the 
mark, and struck him to the heart, who knew his 
heart : by this he tried how well he had kept the com- 
mandment, to love God above all. It is said, the 
young man was very sorrowful, and went his way ; 
and the reason which is given is, that he was very 
rich. The tides met, money and eternal life : contrary 
desires ; and which prevailed ? alas ! his riches. What 
said Christ to this ? " How hardly shall they that have 
riches enter into the kingdom of God ?" He adds, 
" It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, 
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of hea- 
ven :" that is, such a rich man, to wit, a covetous rich 
man, to whom it is hard to do good with what he has : 
It is more than an ordinary miracle : O who then 
would be rich and covetous ! It was upon these rich 
men that Christ pronounced his woe, saying, " Woe 
unto you that are rich, for ye have received your con- 
solation here:" What! none in the heavens? no, 
unless you become willing to be poor men, can 
resign all, live loose to the world, have it at arms-end, 
yea, underfoot, a servant, and not a master. 

19, The other instance is a very dismal one too : it 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



179 



is that of Ananias and Sapphira. In the beginning 
of apostolic times, it was customary for those who re- 
ceived the word of life, to bring what substance they 
had, and lay it at the apostles' feet : of these, Joses, 
surnamed Barnabas, was exemplary. Among the rest, 
Ananias and his wife Sapphira, confessed to the truth, 
sold their possession, but covetously reserved some of 
the purchase-money from the common purse, to them- 
selves, and brought a part for the whole, and laid it 
at the apostles' feet. But Peter, a plain and a bold 
man, in the majesty of the Spirit, said, " Ananias, why 
hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost ; 
and to keep back part of the price of the land ? Whilst 
it remained, was it not thine own ? and after it was 
sold, w T as it not in thine own power ? Why hast thou 
conceived this thing in thine heart ? thou hast not lied 
unto men, but unto God." But what followed this 
covetousness and hypocrisy of Ananias? Ananias 
hearing these "words fell down, and gave up the 
ghost." The like befel his wife, being privy to the 
deceit to which their avarice had led them. And it is 
said, that " great fear came upon all the church, and 
those that heard of these things :" and also should on 
those that now read them. For if this judgment was 
shown and recorded, that we should beware of the like 
evils, what will become of those, who under the pro- 
fession of Christianity, a religion that teaches men to 
live loose from the world, and to yield up all to the 
will and service of Christ and his kingdom, not only 
retain a part, but all ; and cannot part with the least 
thing for Christ's sake. I beseech God to incline the 
hearts of my readers to weigh these things. This had 
not befallen Ananias and Sapphira, if they had acted 



180 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

as in God's presence, and with that entire love, truth 
and sincerity, that became them. Oh that people 
would use the light that Christ hath given them, to 
search and see how far they are under the power of 
this iniquity ! For if they would watch against the 
love of the world, and be less in bondage to the things 
that are seen, which are temporal, they would begin 
to set their hearts on things above, that are of an eter- 
nal nature. Their life would be hid with Christ in 
God, out of the reach of all the uncertainties of time, 
and troubles and changes of mortality. Nay, if people 
would but consider how hardly riches are got, how 
uncertainly they are kept, the envy they bring ; that 
they can neither make a man wise, nor cure diseases, 
nor add to life, much less give peace in death : no, 
nor hardly yield any solid benefit above food and rai- 
ment, which may be had without them, and that if 
there be any good use for them, it is to relieve others 
in distress ; being but stewards of the plentiful provi- 
dences of God, and consequently accountable for our 
stewardship : if, I say, these considerations had any 
room in our minds, we should not thus haste to get, 
nor care to hide and keep, such a mean and impotent 
thing. O that the cross of Christ, which is the spirit 
and power of God in man, might have more place in 
the soul, that it might crucify us more and more to the 
world and the world to us ; that, like the days of par- 
adise, the earth might again be the footstool ; and the 
treasures of the earth a servant, and not a god, to man ! 
—Many have written against this vice ; three of whom 
I will mention. 

20. William Tindal, that worthy apostle of the En- 
glish reformation, has an entire discourse, to which I 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



181 



refer the reader, entitled, " The parable of the Wicked 
Mammon." The next is— 

21. Peter Charron, a famous Frenchman, and in 
particular for the book he wrote of Wisdom, hath a 
chapter against covetousness : part of which is as fol- 
loweth : " To love and affect riches, is covetousness : 
not only the love and affection, but also every over- 
curious care and industry about riches. The desire of 
goods, and the pleasure we take in possessing them, 
is grounded only upon opinion. The immoderate 
desire to get riches, is a gangrene in our souls, which, 
with a venomous heat, consumeth our natural affec- 
tions, to the end it might fill us with virulent humours. 
So soon as it is lodged in our hearts, all honest and 
natural affection, which we owe, either to our parents 
or friends, or ourselves, vanisheth away. All the rest, 
in respect of our profit, seemeth nothing : yea, we 
forget in the end, and condemn ourselves, our bodies, 
our minds, for this transitory trash ; and as our pro- 
verb is, We sell our horse to get us hay. Covetous- 
ness is the vile and base passion of vulgar fools, who 
account riches the principal good of a man, and fear 
poverty as the greatest evil ; and not contenting them- 
selves with necessary means, which are forbidden to 
no man, weigh that which is good in a goldsmith's 
balance, when nature has taught us to measure it by 
the ell of necessity. For, what greater folly can there 
be, than to adore that which nature itself hath put 
under our feet, and hidden in the bowels of the earth, 
as unworthy to be seen : yea, rather to be contemned, 
and trampled under foot ? This is that which the sin 
of man hath only torn out of the entrails of the earth, 
and brought unto light, to kill himself. We dig out 

16 



182 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN- 



the bowels of the earth, and bring to light those things 
for which we would fight : We are not ashamed to 
esteem those things most highly, which are in the 
lowest parts of the earth. Nature seemeth, even in 
the first birth of gold, to have presaged the misery of 
those that are in love with it : for it hath so ordered 
the matter, that in those countries where it oroweth, 
there groweth with it neither grass, nor plant, nor other 
thing that is worth anything : as giving us to under- 
stand thereby, that, in those minds where the desire 
for this metal groweth, there cannot remain so much 
as a spark of true honour and virtue. For what thing 
can be more base, than for a man to degrade, and to 
make himself a servant, and a slave, to that which 
should be subject unto him ? Riches serve wise men, 
but command a fool. A covetous man serveth his 
riches, and not they him : and he is said to have goods 
as he hath a fever, which holdeth and tyranniseth over 
a man, not he over it. What thing more vile, than to 
love that which is not good, neither can make a good 
man ? yea, is common, and in the possession of the 
most wicked in the world ; which many times per- 
verts good manners, but never amends them ? without 
which, so many wise men have made themselves 
happy, and by which so many wicked men have come 
to a wicked end. To be brief : what thing more mis- 
erable, than to bind the living to the dead, as Mezen- 
tius did, to the end their death might be languishing, 
and the more cruel ; to tie the spirit unto the scum of 
the earth, to pierce through his own soul with a thou- 
sand torments, which this passion of riches brings 
with it ; and to entangle himself with the ties and 
cords of this malignant thing, as the Scripture calls 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



183 



them? which doth likewise term them thorns and 
thieves, which steal away the heart of man ; snares of 
the devil, idolatry and the root of all evil. And truly, 
he that shall see the catalogue of those envies and 
molestations, which riches engender in the heart of 
man, as their proper thunderbolt and lightning, they 
would be more hated than they are now loved. Po- 
verty wants many things, but covetousness all : a 
covetous man is good to none, but worse to himself." 
My next testimony is yielded by an author, not un- 
likely to take with some sort of people for his wit ; 
may they equally value his morality, and the judgment 
of his riper time. 

22. Abraham Cowley, a witty and ingenious man, 
writeth thus: "There are two sorts of avarice; the 
one is a rapacious appetite of gain ; not for its own 
sake, but for the pleasure of refunding it immediately 
through all the channels of pride and luxury. The 
other is the true kind, and properly so called, which 
is a restless and insatiable desire of riches, not for 
any farther end or use, but only to hoard and preserve, 
and perpetually increase them. The covetous man of 
the first kind is like a greedy ostrich, which devoureth 
any metal, but it is with intent to feed upon it, and in 
effect it maketh a shift to digest and excern it. The 
second is like the foolish chough, which loveth to 
steal money only to hide it. The first doth much harm 
to mankind, and a little good to some few: the 
second doth good to none, no, not to himself. The 
first can make no excuse to God or angels, or rational 
men, for his actions : the second can give no reason 
or colour, not to the devil himself, for what he doth : 
he is a slave to mammon without wages. The first 



184 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



maketh a shift to be beloved, ay, and envied too, by- 
some people : the second is the universal object of 
hatred and contempt. There is no vice hath been so 
pelted with good sentences, and especially by the 
poets, who have pursued it with satires, and fables, 
and allegories, and allusions, and moved (as we say,) 
every stone to sling at it ; among all which, I do not 
remember a more fine correction than that which was 
given it by one line of Ovid's : 

" ? Multa 

Luxuriae defunt, omnia avaritiat." 

Which is, Much is wanting to luxury, All to avarice. 
To which saying I have a mind to add one member, 
and render it thus : Poverty wants some, luxury many, 
avarice all things. Somebody saith of a virtuous and 
wise man, that having nothing, he hath all. This is 
just his antipode, who having all things, yet hath 
nothing. 

" And oh ! what man's condition can le worse, 
Than his, whom plenty starves, and blessings curse ? 
The beggars but a common fate deplore ; 
The rich-poor man's emphatically poor. 

" I wonder how it cometh to pass, that there hath 
never been any law made against him : against him, 
do I say ? I mean, for him. As there are public pro- 
visions made for all other mad-men, it is very reason- 
able that the king should appoint some persons to 
manage his estate during his life, (for his heirs com- 
monly need not that care ;) and out of it to make it their 
business to see, that he should not want alimony be- 
fitting his condition ; which he could never get out of 
his own cruel fingers. We relieve idle vagrants and 
counterfeit beggars, but have no care at all of these 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



185 



really poor men, who are, methinks, to be respectfully 
treated, in regard of their quality. I might be endless 
against them ; but I am almost choked with the super- 
abundance of the matter. Too much plenty impover- 
isheth me, as it doth them." Thus much against ava- 
rice, that moth of the soul, and canker of the mind. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

1. Luxury, what it is, and the mischief of it to mankind. An enemy 
to the cross of Christ. 2. Of luxury in diet, how unlike Christ, and 
contrary to Scripture. 3. The mischief it does to the bodies, as well 
as minds of people. 4. Of luxury in the excess of apparel, and of 
recreations ; that sin brought the first coat : people not to be proud 
of the badge of their misery. 5. The recreations of the times ene- 
mies to virtue : they rise from degeneracy. 6. The end of clothes 
allowable ; the abuse reprehended. 7. The chiefest recreation of 
good men of old, was to serve God and do good to mankind, and 
follow honest vocations, not vain sports and pastimes. 8. The hea- 
thens knew and did better things. The sobriety of infidels above 
Christians. 9. Luxury condemned in the case of Dives. 10. The 
doctrine of the Scripture positively against a voluptuous life. 

1. I am now come to the other extreme, and that 
is luxury, which is, an excessive indulgence of self 
in ease and pleasure. This is the last great im- 
piety struck at in this discourse of the holy cross of 
Christ, which indeed is much of the subject of its 
mortifying virtue and power. It is a disease as epi- 
demical as killing. It creeps into all stations and 
ranks of men ; the poorest often exceeding their ability 
to indulge their appetite ; and the rich frequently wal- 
lowing in those things that please the lusts of their 
16* 



186 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



eye and flesh, and the pride of life ; as regardless of 
the severe discipline of Jesus, whom they call Saviour, 
as if luxury, and not the cross, were the ordained way 
to heaven. " What shall we eat, what shall we drink, 
and what shall we put on ?" once the care of luxurious 
heathens, is now the practice, and which is worse, 
the study, of pretended Christians. But let such be 
ashamed, and repent; remembering that Jesus did not 
reproach the Gentiles for those things to indulge his 
followers in them. They that will have Christ to be 
theirs, must be sure to be his, to be like-minded, to 
live in temperance and moderation, as knowing the 
Lord is at hand. Sumptuous apparel, rich unguents, 
delicate washes, stately furniture, costly cookery, and 
such diversions as balls, masques, music-meetings, 
plays, romances, &c, which are the delight and enter- 
tainment of the times, belong not to the holy path 
which Jesus and his true disciples and followers trod 
to glory : no, " through many tribulations," says none 
of the least of them, " must we enter into the kingdom 
of God." I do earnestly beseech the gay and luxu- 
rious, into whose hands this discourse shall be direct- 
ed, to consider well the reasons and examples here 
advanced against their way of living ; if haply they 
may come to see how remote it is from true Christian- 
ity, and how dangerous to their eternal peace. God 
Almighty, by his grace, soften their hearts to instruc- 
tion, and shed abroad his tender love in their souls, 
that they may be overcome to repentance, and to the 
love of the holy way of the cross of Jesus, the blessed 
Redeemer of men. For they cannot think that he can 
benefit them, while they refuse to lay down their sins 
for the love of him who laid down his life for the love 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 187 

of them ; or that he will give them a place in heaven, 
who refuse him any in their hearts on earth. But let 
us examine luxury in all its parts. 

2. Luxury has many parts ; and the first that is for- 
bidden by the self-denying Jesus, is the belly : " Take 
no thought," says he to his disciples saying what shall 
we eat or what shall we drink ?— for after these things 
do the Gentiles seek :" as if he had said, the uncir- 
cumcised, the heathen, such as live without the true 
God, make a god of their belly, whose care is to please 
their appetite, more than to seek God and his king- 
dom : you must not do so, but " seek you first the 
kingdon of God, and his righteousness, and all these 
things shall be added unto you." That which is con- 
venient for you, will follow : let every thing have its 
time and order. 

This carries a serious reprehension to the luxurious 
eater and drinker, who is taken up with an excessive 
care of his palate ; what he shall eat, and what he shall 
drink : who, being often at a loss what to have next, 
therefore has an officer to invent, and a cook to dress, 
disguise, and drown the species, that it may cheat the 
eye, look new and strange ; and all to excite an appe- 
tite, or raise an admiration. To be sure there is great 
variety, and that curious and costly : the sauce, it may 
be, dearer than the meat : and so full is he fed, that 
without it he can scarce find a stomach ; which is to 
force hunger, rather than to satisfy it. And as he eats, 
so he drinks ; rarely for thirst, but pleasure ; to please 
his palate. For this purpose he will have divers sorts, 
and he must taste them all : one, however good, is 
dull and tiresome ; variety is more delightful than the 
best ; and therefore the whole world is little enough 



188 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

to fill his cellar. But were he temperate in his pro- 
portions, his variety might be imputed rather to curi- 
osity than luxury. But what the temperate man uses 
as a cordial, he drinks by full draughts, till, inflamed 
by excess, he is fitted to be an instrument of mischief, 
if not to others, always to himself ; whom perhaps at 
last he knows not : for such brutality are some come 
to, they will sip themselves out of their own know- 
ledge. This is the lust of the flesh, that is not of the 
Father, but of the world ; for upon this comes in the 
music and the dance, the mirth, and the laughter, 
which is madness, that the noise of one pleasure may 
drown the iniquity of another, lest his own heart should 
deal too plainly with him. Thus the luxurious live ; 
" they forget God, they regard not the afflicted." O 
that the sons and daughters of men would consider 
their wantonness and their iniquity in these things ! 
How ill do they requite the goodness of God, in the 
use and abuse of the plenty he yields them : how cruel 
are they to his creatures, how lavish of their lives and 
virtue, how thankless for them ; forgetting the Giver, 
and abusing the gift by their lusts ; and despising 
counsel, and casting instruction behind them. They 
lose tenderness, and forget duty, being swallowed up 
of voluptuousness; adding one excess to another. 
God rebuked this sin in the Jews by the prophet 
Amos : " Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause 
the seat of violence to come near ; that lie upon beds 
of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, 
and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out 
of the midst of the stall ; that chant to the sound of 
the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of mu- 
sic, like David ; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



189 



themselves with the chief ointments : but they are not 
grieved for the affliction of Joseph." — These, it seems, 
were the vices of the degenerate Jews, under all their 
pretence to religion : And are they not of Christians 
at this day ? Yea, they are ; and these are the great 
parts of luxury, struck at in this discourse. Remem- 
ber Dives, with all his sumptuous fare, went to hell ; 
and the apostle pronounces heavy woes upon those 
" whose God is their belly ;" for such " glory in their 
shame." 

Christ places these things to the courts of worldly 
kings, not his kingdom ; making them unseemly in his 
followers : his feast therefore, which was his miracle 
to the multitude, was plain and simple ; enough, but 
without curiosity, or the art of cookery : and it went 
down well, for, they were hungry ; the best and fittest 
time to eat. The apostle, in his directions to his much 
beloved Timorhy, debases the lover of worldly fulness , 
advising him to " godliness and content, as the chiefest 
gain :" adding, " and having food and raiment, let us 
therewith be content." Behold the abstemious and 
most contented life of those royal pilgrims, the sons of 
heaven, and immortal offspring of the great power of 
God ; they were in fasts and perils often, and ate what 
was set before them ; and in all conditions learned to 
be contented, O blessed men ! blessed spirits ! let 
my soul dwell with yours forever ! 

3. The diseases which luxury begets and nourishes, 
make it an enemy to mankind : for, besides the mis- 
chief it brings to the souls of people, it undermines 
health, and shortens the life of man, in that it gives 
but ill nourishment, and so leaves and feeds corrupt 
humours, whereby the body becomes rank and foul, 



190 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



lazy and scorbutic, unfit for exercise, or for honest 
labour. The spirits being thus loaded with ill flesh, 
and the mind effeminated, a man is made inactive, 
and so useless in civil society ; for idleness follows 
luxury, as well as diseases. These are the burdens 
of the world, devourers of good things, self-lovers, 
and forgetters of God : but, (which is sad, and yet 
just,) the end of those that forget God, is to be " turn- 
ed into hell." 

4. There is another part of luxury, which has great 
place with vain man and woman, and that is the gor- 
geousness of apparel, one of the foolishest, because most 
costly, empty and unprofitable excesses people can 
well be guilty of. We are taught by the Scriptures of 
truth to believe that sin brought the first coat ; and, if 
consent of writers be of force, it was as well without 
as within : to those that so believe, I direct my dis- 
course, because they, I am sure, are the generality. I 
say, if sin brought the first coat, poor Adam's offspring 
have little reason to be proud or curious in their 
clothes ; for it seems their original was base, and the 
finery of them will neither make them noble, nor man 
innocent again. Doubtless, blessed was that time, 
when innocence, not ignorance, freed our first parents 
from such shifts : they were then naked, and knew no 
shame ; but sin made them ashamed to be longer 
naked. Since therefore guilt brought shame, and 
shame an apron and a coat, how very low are they 
fallen who glory in their shame, and are proud of their 
fall ? for so they are, who use care and cost to trim 
and set off the very badge and livery of that lamenta- 
ble lapse. It is all one, as if a man who had lost his 
nose by a scandalous distemper, should take pains to 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 191 

set out a false one, in such shape and splendour, as 
should give the greater occasion for all to gaze upon 
him ; as if he would tell them he had lost his nose, 
for fear they should think he had not. But would a 
wise man be in love with a false nose, though ever 
so rich, and however finely made ? no : and shall peo- 
ple who call themselves Christians, show so much 
love for clothes, as to neglect innocence, their first 
clothing ? Doth it not show what cost of time, pains, 
and money, people are at to set off their shame, with 
the greatest show and solemnity of folly ? Is it not to 
delight in the effect of that cause, which they rather 
should lament ? If a thief were to wear chains all his 
life, would their being gold, and well made, abate his 
infamy? To be sure, his being choice of them would 
increase it. This is the very case of the vain fashion- 
mongers of this shameless age ; yet will they be Chris- 
tians, judges in religion, and saints. O miserable 
state indeed ! to be so blinded by the lust of the eye, 
the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, as to call 
shame decency, and to be curious and expensive about 
that which should be their humiliation. And not only 
are they grown in love with these vanities, and there- 
by express how wide they are from primitive inno- 
cence ; but it is notorious how many fashions have 
been and are invented on purpose to excite lust: 
which still puts them at a greater distance from a 
simple and harmless state, and enslaves their minds to 
base concupiscence. 

5. Nor is it otherwise with recreations, as they call 
them ; for these are nearly related. Man was made a 
noble, rational, grave creature : his pleasure stood in 
his duty, and his duty in obeying God ; which was to 
love, fear, adore, and serve him • and in using the 



192 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 



creation, with true temperance and godly modera- 
tion ; as knowing well that the Lord, his judge, was 
at hand, the inspector and rewarder of his works. In 
short, his happiness was in his communion with God ; 
his error was to leave that conversation, and let his 
eyes wander abroad, to gaze on transitory things. 
If the recreations of the age were as pleasant and 
necessary as they are said and made to be, how un- 
happy would Adam and Eve have been, who never 
knew them. But had they never fallen, and the world 
not been tainted by their folly and ill example, per- 
haps man had never known the necessity or use of 
many of these things. Sin gave them birth, as it did 
the other ; they were afraid of the presence of the 
Lord, which was the joy of their innocency, when 
they had sinned ; and then their minds wandered, 
sought other pleasures, and began to forget God ; as 
he complained afterwards by the prophet Amos : — 
" They put far away the evil day : they eat the fat of 
the flock : they drink wine in bowls : they anoint them- 
selves with the chief perfumes : they stretch themselves 
upon beds of ivory : they chant to the sound of the 
viol, and invent unto themselves instruments of music, 
like David," not heeding, or remembering, the afflic- 
tions and captivity of poor Joseph. Him they wick- 
edly sold ; innocency was quite banished, shame soon 
began to grow a custom, till they were grown shame- 
less in the imitation. And truly, it is now no less a 
shame to approach primitive innocence by modest 
plainness, than it was matter of shame to Adam that 
he lost it, and became forced to tack fig-leaves toge- 
ther for a covering. In vain do men and women deck 
themselves with specious pretences to religion, and 
flatter their miserable souls with the fair titles of Chris- 



no cross, no crown: 193 

tian, innocent, good, virtuous, and the like, whilst 
such vanities and follies reign. Wherefore to you all, 
from the eternal God, I am bound to declare', "you 
mock him who will not be mocked, and deceive your- 
selves such intemperance must be denied, and you 
must know yourselves changed, and more nearly ap- 
proach to primitive purity, before you can be entitled 
to what you now do but usurp ; for none but those who 
are led by the Spirit of God, are the children of God, 
which guides into all temperance and meekness. 

6. But the Christian world, as it would be called, 
is justly reprovable, because the very end of the first 
institution of apparel is grossly perverted. The utmost 
service that clothes originally were designed for, when 
sin had stripped man and woman of their native inno- 
cence, was, as hath been said, to cover their shame, 
therefore plain and modest: next, to fence out cold, 
therefore substantial : lastly, to declare sexes, there- 
fore distinguishing. So that then necessity provoked 
clothing, now pride and vain curiosity; in former 
times some benefit obliged, but now wantonness and 
pleasure induce : then they minded them for covering, 
but now that is the least part ; their greedy eyes must 
be provided with gaudy superfluities ; as if they made 
their clothes for trimming, to be seen rather than worn ; 
only for the sake of other curiosities that must be 
tacked upon them, although they neither cover shame, 
fence from cold, nor distinguish sexes ; but sio-nally 
display their wanton, fantastic, full-fed minds,° who 
have them. 

7. Then the best recreations were to serve God, to 
be just, to follow their vocations, to mind their flocks, 
to do good, and exercise their bodies in such manner 

17 



194 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



as was suitable to gravity, temperance, and virtue ; but 
now that word is extended to almost every folly that 
carries any appearance above open scandalous filth, 
detested by the very actors, when they have done it ; 
so much are men degenerated from Adam in his dis- 
obedience ; so much more confident and artificial are 
they grown in all impieties. Their minds, through 
custom, are become so very insensible of the inconve- 
niency that attends the like follies, that what was once 
mere necessity, a badge of shame, or at best but a 
remedy, is now the delight, pleasure, and recreation 
of the age. How ignoble is it ! how ignominious and 
unworthy of that reasonable creature ; that man who 
is endued with understanding, fit to contemplate im- 
mortality, and made a companion to angels, should 
mind a little dust, a few shameful rags ; inventions of 
mere pride and luxury ; toys, so apish and fantastic ; 
entertainments so dull and earthly, that a rattle, a 
baby, a hobby-horse, a top, are by no means so foolish 
in a simple child, nor unworthy of his thoughts, as are 
such inventions of the care and pleasure of men. It 
is a mark of great stupidity, that such vanities should 
exercise the noble mind of man, the image of the 
great Creator of heaven and earth. 

8. Of this many among the very heathens of old 
had so clear a prospect, that they detested all such 
vanity; looking upon curiosity in apparel, and that 
variety of recreations now in vogue and esteem with 
false Christians, to be destructive of good manners, 
in that it more easily stole away the minds of people 
from sobriety to wantonness, idleness, and effeminacy, 
and made them only companions for the beast that 
perishes : witness those famous men, Anaxagoras, Soc- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



195 



rates, Plato, Aristides, Cato, Seneca, Epictetus, &c, 
who placed true honour and satisfaction in nothing 
below virtue and immortality. Nay, such are the re- 
mains of innocence among some Moors and Indians 
in our times, that they do not only traffic in a simple 
posture, but if a Christian (though he must be an odd 
one) sling out a filthy word, it is customary with them, 
by way of moral, to bring him water to purge his 
mouth. How much do the like virtues, and reason- 
able instances, accuse people professing Christianity, 
of gross folly and intemperance ? ! that men and 
women had the fear of God before their eyes ! and 
that they were so charitable to themselves, as to re- 
member whence they came, what they are doing, and 
to what they must return : that so, more noble, more 
virtuous, more rational and heavenly things might be 
the matters of their pleasure and entertainment ! that 
they would be once persuaded to believe how incon- 
sistent the folly, vanity, and conversation they are 
mostly exercised in, really are with the true nobility 
of a reasonable soul ; and let that just principle which 
taught the heathens, teach them, lest it be found more 
tolerable for heathens than for such Christians in the 
day of account ! For if their shorter notions, and more 
imperfect sense of things could yet discover so much 
vanity; if their degree of light condemned it, and 
they, in obedience thereunto, disused it, doth it not 
behove Christians much more ? Christ came not to 
extinguish, but to improve that knowledge : and they 
who think they need do less now than before, had 
need to act better than they think. I conclude that 
the fashions and recreations now in repute are very 
abusive of the end of man's creation ; and the incon- 



196 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



veniencies that attend them, as wantonness, idleness, 
prodigality, pride, lust, respect of persons (witness a 
plume of feathers, or a lace-coat in a country village, 
whatever be the man that wears them,) with the like 
fruits, are repugnant, to the duty, reason, and true 
pleasure of man, and absolutely inconsistent with that 
wisdom, knowledge, manhood, temperance, and in- 
dustry, which render man truly noble and good. 

9. Again, these things which have been hitherto 
condemned, have never been the conversation or 
practice of the holy men and women of old times, 
whom the Scriptures recommend for holy examples) 
worthy of imitation. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
were plain men, and princes, as graziers are, over 
their families and flocks. They were not solicitous of 
the vanities so much lived in by the people of this 
generation, for in all things they pleased God by faith. 
The first forsook his father's house, kindred, and coun- 
try ; a true type or figure of that self-denial all must 
know, who would have Abraham for their father. They 
must not think to live in those pleasures, fashions, and 
customs which they are called to leave ; but part with 
all, in hopes of the great recompense of reward, " and 
that better country, which is eternal in the heavens." 
The prophets were generally poor mechanics ; one a 
shepherd, another an herdsman, &c. They often cried 
to the full-fed, wanton Israelites, to repent, to fear 
and dread the living God, and to forsake the sins and 
vanities they lived in; but they never imitated them. 
John Baptist, the messenger of the Lord, who was 
sanctified in his mother's womb, preached his embassy 
to the world in a coat of camel's hair, a rough and 
homely garment. Nor can it be conceived that Jesus 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 197 

Christ himself was much better appareled, who, ac- 
cording to the flesh, was of poor descent, and in a 
life of great plainness ; insomuch that it was usual in 
way of derision to say, " Is not this Jesus, the son of 
Joseph the carpenter?" And this Jesus tells his fol- 
lowers, that as for soft raiment, gorgeous apparel and 
delicacies, they were for kings' courts : implying that 
he and his followers were not to seek after those things, 
but seems thereby to express the great difference that 
was betwixt the lovers of the fashions and customs of 
the world, and those whom he had chosen out of it. 
He did not only come in that mean and despicable 
manner himself, that he might stain the pride of all 
flesh, but therein became exemplary to his followers, 
what a self-denying life they must lead, if they would 
be his true disciples. Nay, he farther leaves it with 
them in a parable, to the end that it might make the 
deeper impression, and that they might see how incon- 
sistent a pompous, worldly-pleasing life is with the 
kingdom he came to establish, and call men to the 
possession of. This is the remarkable story of Dives, 
who is represented, first as a rich man ; next as a vo- 
luptuous man, in his rich apparel, his many dishes, 
and his pack of dogs ; and lastly, as an uncharitable 
man, one who was more concerned how to please the 
lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of 
life, and fare sumptuously every day, than to take com- 
passion of poor Lazarus at his gate : even his dogs 
were more pitiful and kind than he. But what was 
the doom of this jolly man, this great Dives ? We 
read it was everlasting torment ; but that of Lazarus, 
eternal joy with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the 
kingdom of God. In short, Lazarus was a good man, 
17 * 



198 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



the other a great man ; the one poor and temperate, 
the other rich and luxurious : there are many of such 
alive ; and it were well, if his doom might awaken 
them to repentance. 

10. Nor were the twelve apostles, the immediate 
messengers of the Lord Jesus Christ, other than poor 
men, one a fisherman, another a tent-maker ; and he 
that was of the greatest (though perhaps not the best) 
employment was a custom-gatherer. It is very un- 
likely that any of them were followers of the fashions 
of the world : nay, they were so far from it, that, as 
became the followers of Christ, they lived poor, afflict- 
ed, self-denying lives ; bidding the churches to walk 
as they had them for examples. And to shut up this 
particular, they gave this pathetical account of the holy 
women in former times, as an example of godly tem- 
perance, namely, that first they did expressly abstain 
from gold, silver, braided hair, fine apparel, or such 
like ; and next, " that their adornment was a meek and 
quiet spirit, and the hidden man of the heart, which 
are of great price with the Lord:" affirming, "that 
such as live in pleasure, are dead whilst they live j" 
for that the cares and pleasures of this life choke and 
destroy the seed of the kingdom, and hinder all pro- 
gress in the hidden and divine life. Wherefore we 
find, that the holy men and women of former times 
were not accustomed to these pleasures and vain re- 
creations ; but having their minds set on things above, 
sought another kingdom, which consists in u righteous- 
ness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit ; who having 
obtained a good report, entered into their eternal 
rest," therefore their works follow, and praise them 
in the gates. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



199 



CHAPTER XV. 

I. The judgments of God denounced upon the Jews for their luxury ; 
all ranks included. 2. Christ charges his disciples to have a care'of 
the guilt of it : a supplication to the inhabitants of England. 3. 
Temperance pressed upon the churches by the apostles. 4. An 
exhortation to England to measure herself by that rule. 5. What 
Christian recreations are. 6. Who need other sports to pass away 
their time, are unfit for heaven and eternity. 7. Man has but a few 
days; they may be better bestowed : this doctrine is ungrateful to 
none that would be truly blessed. 8. Not only good is omitted bv 
this luxurious life, but evil committed, as breach of marriage and 
love, loss of health and estate, &c. play-houses and stages most in- 
strumental to this mischief. 9. How youth is by them inflamed to 
vanity : what mischief comes of revels, gaming?, &c. Below the 
life of noble heathens. 10. The true disciples of Jesus are mortified 
to these things : the pleasure and reward of a good employment of 
time. 

1. Excess in apparel and pleasure was not only for- 
bidden in Scripture, but it was the ground of that 
lamentable message by the prophet Isaiah, to the 
people of Israel: "Moreover," the Lord saith, "be- 
cause the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk 
with stretchedforth necks and wanton eyes, walking 
and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with 
their feet ; therefore the Lord will smite with a scab 
the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and 
the Lord will discover their secret parts; the Lord 
will take away the bravery of their tinkling orna- 
ments : and their cauls (or net works, in the Hebrew) 
and their round tires like the moon ; the chains and 
the bracelets, and the spangled ornaments : the bon- 
nets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head- 
bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, the rings 
and nose jewels ; the changeable suits of apparel, and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins : 
the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods and the 
veils. And it shall come to pass, that instead of 
sweet smells, there shall be a stink ; and instead of a 
girdle, a rent ; and instead of well-set hair, baldness ; 
and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sack-cloth, 
and burning, instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall 
by the sword, and thy mighty in the war ; and her 
gates shall lament and mourn, and she, being desolate, 
shall sit upon the ground." Behold, vain and 
foolish inhabitants of England and Europe, your folly 
and your doom ! Read the prophet Ezekiel's vision of 
miserable Tyre, what punishment her pride and plea- 
sure brought upon her ; and amongst many other cir- 
cumstances these are some ; " These were thy mer- 
chants in all sorts of things ; in blue clothes and broi- 
dered work, and in chests of rich apparel, emeralds, 
purple, fine linen^ coral and agate, spices, with all 
precious stones and gold, horses, chariots, &c." For 
which hear part of her doom, " Thy riches and thy 
fairs, thy merchandise and all thy company, which is 
in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the sea, 
in the day of thy ruin ; and the inhabitants of the isles 
shall be astonished at thee, and their merchants hiss 
at thee ; thou shalt be a terror, and shalt be no more." 
Thus hath God declared his displeasure against the 
luxury of this wanton world. The prophet Zephaniah 
goes yet further, for thus he speaks ; " And it shall 
come to pass, in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I 
will punish the princes and the king's children, and 
all such as are clothed with strange apparel." Of 
how evil consequence was it in those times, for the 
greatest men to give themselves the liberty of follow- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



201 



ing the vain customs of other nations ; or of changing 
the usual end of clothes, or apparel, to gratify foolish 
curiosity ? 

2. This did the Lord Jesus Christ expressly charge 
his disciples not to be careful about ; intimating that 
such as were, could not be his disciples : for, says he, 
" Take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or 
wmat shall we drink? or wherewithal shall we be 
clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles 
seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have 
need of all these things : but seek ye first the kingdom 
of God, and his righteousness, and all these things 
shall be added unto you." Under eating, and drink- 
ing, and apparel, he comprehends all external things 
whatsoever ; and so much appears, as well because 
they are opposed to the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness, which are invisible and heavenly things, 
as that those very matters he enjoins them not to be 
careful about, are the most necessary and the most inno- 
cent in themselves. If, then, in such cases, the minds 
of his disciples were not to be solicitous, much less in 
foolish, superstitious, idle inventions, to gratify the 
carnal appetites and minds of men ; so certain it is, 
that those who live therein, are none of his followers, 
but Gentiles ; and (as is elsewhere said) " the nations 
of the world who know not God." If then the distin- 
guishing mark between the disciples of Jesus and 
those of the world, is, that one minds the things of 
heaven and God's kingdom, that " stands in righteous- 
ness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," being not 
careful of external matters, even the most innocent 
and necessary, and that the other minds eating, drink- 
ing, apparel, and the affairs of the world, with the 



202 



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lusts, pleasures, profits, and honours that belong to it ; 
be you entreated for your soul's sakes, O inhabitants 
of England, to be serious, to reflect awhile upon 
yourselves, what care and cost you are at, of time and 
money, about foolish, nay, vicious things : so far are 
you degenerated from the primitive Christian life. 
What buying and selling, what dealing and chaffering, 
what writing and posting, what toil and labour, what 
noise, hurry, bustle, and confusion, what study, what 
little contrivances and over-reachings ; what eating, 
drinking, vanity of apparel, most ridiculous recrea- 
tions ; in short, what rising early, going to bed late, 
and expense of precious time, is there about things 
that perish ? View the streets, shops, exchanges, plays, 
parks, coffee-houses, &c. Is not the world, this 
fading world, written upon every face ? Say not within 
yourselves, How otherwise should men live, and the 
world subsist ? a common, though frivolous objection. 
There is enough for all ; let some content themselves 
with less ; a few things plain and decent serve a 
Christian life. It is lust, pride, avarice, that thrust 
men upon such folly : were God's kingdom more the 
exercise of their minds, these perishing entertainments 
would have but little of their time or thoughts. 

3. This self-denying doctrine was confirmed and 
enforced by the apostles in their example, as we have 
already shown : and in their precepts too, as we shall 
evince in those two most remarkable passages of Paul 
and Peter ; where they do not only tell us what should 
be done, but also what should be denied and avoided. 
" In like manner I will that women adorn themselves 
in modest apparel : (what is that?) with shame-faced- 
ness and sobriety ; not with broidered hair, or gold, 



NO cross, yo CROWN. 



203 



or pearls, or costly array, [then it seems these are im- 
modest] but, which becometh women professing god- 
liness, with good works :" absolutely implying, that, 
those who attire themselves with gold, silver, broider- 
ed hair, pearls, or costly array, cannot in so doing be 
women professing godliness ; making those very things 
to be contrary to modesty and what is good ; and con- 
sequently that they are evil, and unbecoming " women 
professing godliness." To which the apostle Peter 
joins another precept after the like sort, viz. " Whose 
adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plait- 
ing the hair, and of wearing of gold, or putting on 
apparel (what then ?) : but let it be the hidden man of 
the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the 
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the 
sight of God of great price." And as an inducement, 
he adds, " for after this manner in the old time, the 
holy* women, who so trusted in God, adorned them- 
selves." Which doth not only intimate, that holy 
women were so adorned, and that it behoves such as 
would be holy, and trust in the holy God, to be so 
adorned ; but also, that they who used those forbidden 
ornaments, were the women and people in all ages, 
who (for all their talk) " were not holy, nor did trust 
in God." Such are so far from trusting in God, that 
the apostle Paul expressly says, that " she that liveth 
in pleasure is dead (to God) whilst she liveth:" and 
the same apostle farther enjoined, " that Christians 
should have their conversation in heaven, and their 
minds fixed on things above : walk honestly as in the 
day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chamber- 

* Note, not a word of men, as if this vanity belonged not to the sex ; 
let thera observe that. 



204 



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ing and wantonness, not in envy and strife. Let not 
fornication, uncleanness, or covetousness, be once 
named amongst you; neither filthiness, nor foolish 
talking or jesting, which are not convenient; but 
rather giving of thanks : and let no corrupt commu- 
nication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is 
good, to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace 
unto the hearers. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the de- 
sires thereof. And grieve not the Holy Spirit ; (inti- 
mating that such conversation doth ;) but be ye follow- 
ers of God, as dear children : walk circumspectly, not 
as fools, but as wise ; redeeming the time, because 
the days are evil." 

4. Measure yourselves by this, O inhabitants of 
this land, who think yourselves wronged, if not ac- 
counted Christians : see what proportion your life and 
spirit bear with these most holy and self-denying pre- 
cepts and examples. Well, my friends, my soul mourns 
for you : I have been with and among you : your life 
and pastime are not strangers to my notice ; and with 
compassion, yea, inexpressible pity, I bewail your 
folly. O that you would be wise ! O that the just One 
in yourselves were heard ! that eternity had time 
to plead a little with you ! Why should your beds, 
your glasses, your clothes, your tables, your loves, 
your plays, your parks, your treats, your recreations, 
poor perishing joys, have all your souls, your time, 
your care, your purse, and consideration ? Be admon- 
ished, I beseech you, in the name of the living God, 
by one who, as some of you know, hath had his share 
in these things, and consequently time to know how 
little the like vanities conduce to true and solid hap- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



205 



piness. No, my friends, God Almighty knows (and 
would to God, you would believe and follow me,) 
they end in shame and sorrow. Faithful is that most 
Holy One, who hath determined that every man and 
woman shall reap what they sow. And will not trouble, 
anguish, and disappointment, be a sad and dreadful 
harvest for you to reap, for all your misspent time and 
substance about superfluities and vain recreations ? 
Retire, then ; quench not the Holy Spirit in yourselves ; 
redeem your precious, abused time ; frequent such 
conversation as may help you against your evil incli- 
nations ; so shall you follow the examples, and keep 
the precepts of Jesus Christ, and all his followers. 
For hitherto we have plainly demonstrated, that no 
such way of living, as is in request among you of the 
land, ever was, or can be truly Christian. 

5. The best recreation is to do good : and all Chris- 
tian customs tend to temperance, and some good and 
beneficial end ; which more or less may be in every 
action. For instance : if men and women would be 
diligent to follow their respective callings, frequent 
the assemblies of religious people, visit sober neigh- 
bours to be edified, and wicked ones to reform them ; 
be careful in the tuition of their children, exemplary 
to their servants, relieve the necessitous, see the sick, 
visit the imprisoned, administer to their infirmities and 
indispositions, endeavour for peace amongst neigh- 
bours : also study moderately, commendable and pro- 
fitable arts, as navigation, arithmetic, geometry, hus- 
bandry, gardening, handicraft, medicine, &c. And, 
that women spin, sow, knit, weave, garden, preserve, 
and the like housewifely and honest employments (the 
practice of the greatest and noblest matrons and youth 3 

18 



206 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



among the very heathens,) helping others, who, for 
want, are unable to keep servants, to ease them in 
their necessary affairs; frequent and private retire- 
ments from all worldly objects, to enjoy the Lord ; 
secret and steady meditations on the divine life and 
heavenly inheritance : which to leave undone, and 
prosecute other things, under the notion of recreations, 
is accursed lust and damnable impiety. It is most 
vain in any to object, that they cannot do these 
always, and therefore, why may not they use these 
common diversions ? For I ask, what would such be 
at ? what would they do ? and what would they have ? 
They that have trades, have not time enough to do the 
half of what hath been recommended. And as for 
those who have nothing to do, and indeed do nothing, 
which is worse, but sin, which is worst of all, here is 
variety of pleasant, of profitable, nay, of very honour- 
able employments and diversions for them. Such can 
with great delight sit at a play, a ball, a masque, at 
cards, dice, &c, drinking, reveling, feasting, and the 
like, an entire day ; yea, turn night into day, and in- 
vert the very order of the creation, to humour their 
lusts. And were it not for eating and sleeping, it 
would be past a doubt, whether they would ever find 
time to cease from those vain and sinful pastimes, till 
the hasty calls of death should summon their appear- 
ance in another world. Yet they think it intolerable, 
and hardly possible for any to sit so long at a profitable 
or religious exercise. 

6. How do these think to pass their vast eternity 
away? " for as the tree falls, so it lies." Let none 
deceive themselves, nor mock their immortal souls, 
with a pleasant, but most false and pernicious dream, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 



207 



that they shall be changed by a constraining and irre- 
sistible power, just when their souls take leave of their 
bodies. No, no, my friends, " what you sow, that 
shall you reap:" if you sow vanity, folly, visible de- 
lights, fading pleasures ; no better shall you ever reap 
than corruption, sorrow, and the woful anguish of 
eternal disappointment. But alas ! w T hat is the reason 
that the cry is so common, Must we always doat on 
these things ? Most certainly it is this, they know not 
what is the joy and peace of speaking and acting as 
in the presence of the most holy God. This passes 
such vain understandings, darkened with the glories 
and pleasures of the god of this world ; whose religion 
is so many mumbled and ignorantly devout-said words, 
as they teach parrots. If they w^ere of those whose 
hearts are set on things above, and w r hose treasure is 
in heaven, there would their minds inhabit, and their 
greatest pleasure constantly be. Such who call that 
a burden, and seek to be refreshed by such pastimes 
as a play, a morrice-dance, a punchanello, a ball, a 
masque, cards, dice, or the like, I am bold to affirm, 
not only never knew the divine excellency of God, 
and his truth, but thereby declare themselves most 
unfit for them in another world. For how is it possible 
that they can be delighted to eternity, with that satis- 
faction which is so tedious and irksome for thirty or 
forty years ; that, for a supply of recreation to their 
minds, the little toys and fopperies of this perishing 
world must be brought into practice and request? 
Surely, those who are to reckon for every idle word, 
must not use sports to pass away the time, which they 
are commanded so diligently to redeem ; considering 
that no less work is to be done, than making their 



208 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



" calling and election sure." Much less must they 
study to invent recreations for their vain minds, and 
spend the greatest part of their days, and months, and 
years therein, not allowing a quarter of that time toward 
the great concernment of their lives and souls, for 
which that time was given them. 

7. There is but little need to drive away that, by 
foolish diversions, which flies away so swiftly of itself, 
and, when once gone, is never to be recalled. Plays, 
parks, balls, treats, romances, musics, love-sonnets, 
and the like, will be a very invalid plea for any other 
purpose than their condemnation, who are taken and 
delighted with them, at the revelation of the righteous 
judgment of God. my friends ! these were never 
invented, but by that mind which had first lost the joy 
and ravishing delights of God's holy presence. 

So that we conclude, first, that of those many ex- 
cellent employments already mentioned, as worthy to 
possess such minds as are inclined to these vanities, 
there is store enough of time, not only to take up their 
spare hours, but double so much, and that with great 
delight, diversion, and profit, both to themselves and 
others ; were they but once weaned from vain and 
fruitless fopperies, and did they but consider, how 
great the satisfaction, and how certain the rewards 
are, which attend this, and the other life, for such 
universal benefits and virtuous examples. 

The second conclusion is, that what is alleged by 
me can be displeasing and ungrateful to none, but such 
as know not what it is to walk with God, to prepare 
for an eternal mansion, to have the mind exercised on 
heavenly and good things, to follow the examples of 
the holy men and women of former happy ages ; such 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



209 



as know not Christ's doctrine, life, death, and resur- 
rection, but only have their minds fastened to the flesh, 
and by the objects of it are allured, deceived, and 
miserably ruined : and lastly, who despise heaven and 
the joys that are not seen, though eternal, for a few 
perishing trifles that they do see, though they are de- 
creed to pass away. How these are baptised with 
Christ, into his holy life, cruel sufferings, shameful 
death, and raised with him to immortal desires, hea- 
venly meditations, a divine, new life, growling into 
the knowledge of heavenly mysteries, and all holiness, 
even unto the measure of the stature of Jesus Christ, 
the great example of all : how, I say, these resemble 
most necessary Christian qualifications, and what share 
they have therein, let their consciences tell them, upon 
a serious inquiry in the cool of the day. 

8. In the next place, such attire and pastimes do 
not only show the exceeding worldliness of people's 
inclinations, and their very great ignorance of the 
divine joys, but by imitating these fashions, and fre- 
quenting these places and diversions, not only much 
good is omitted, but a certain door is opened to much 
evil to be committed. As first, precious time, that 
were worth a world on a dying bed, is lost : money, 
that might be employed for some general good, vainly 
expended : pleasure is taken in mere shame ; lusts are 
gratified, the minds of people alienated from heavenly 
things, and exercised about mere folly : pride is taken 
in clothes, first given to cover nakedness, whereby the 
creature is neglected, and the noble creation of God 
disregarded, and men become acceptable by their 
trims, and the alamodeness of their dress and apparel : 
from whence respect to persons doth so naturally arise, 
18 * 



210 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



that for any to deny it, is to affirm the sun shines not 
at noon-day : nothing being more notorious, than the 
cringing, scraping, sirring, and madaming of persons, 
according to the gaudiness of their attire, which is de- 
testable to God, and so absolutely forbidden in the 
Scriptures, that to do it, is to break the whole law, 
and consequently to incur the punishment thereof. 
Next, what great holes do the like practices make in 
men's estates : how are their vocations neglected ; 
young women deluded ; the marriage-bed invaded ; 
contentions and family-animosities begotten ; partings 
of man and wife ; disinheriting of children ; dismiss- 
ing of servants. On the other hand, servants made 
slaves, children disregarded, wives despised, and 
shamefully abused, through the intemperance of their 
husbands ; which either puts them upon the same ex- 
travagance, or, laying such cruel injustice to heart, 
they pine their days in grief and misery. 

But of all these wretched inventions, the play- 
houses, like so many hellish seminaries, do most per- 
niciously conduce to these sad and miserable ends ; 
where little besides frothy, wanton, if not directly 
obscene and profane humours, are represented ; which 
are of notorious ill consequence upon the minds of 
most, especially the youth that frequent them. And 
thus it is that idle and debauched stagers are encour- 
aged and maintained ; than which scarcely a greater 
abomination can be thought on of that rank of impie- 
ties, as will anon particularly be shown ; and truly, 
nothing but the excessive pleasure people take therein 
could blind their eyes from seeing it. 

9. But lastly, the grand indisposition of mind in 
people to solid, serious, and heavenly meditations, by 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 211 

the almost continual as well as pleasant rumination in 
their minds, of those various adventures they have 
been entertained with, which in the more youthful can 
never miss to inflame and animate their boiling and 
airy constitutions. And in the rest of the common 
recreations of balls, masques, treats, cards, dice, &c, 
there are the like opportunities to promote the like 
evils. And yet farther ; how many quarrels, animosi- 
ties, nay murders too, as well as expense of estate 
and precious time, have been the immediate conse- 
quences of the like practices ? These were the ways 
of the Gentiles that knew not God, but never the prac- 
tice of them that feared him : nay, the more noble 
among the heathens themselves, namely, Anaxagoras, 
Socrates, Plato, Antisthenes, Heraclitus, Zeno, Aris- 
tides, Cato, Tully, Epictetus, Seneca, &c, have left 
their disgust to these things upon record, as odious 
and destructive, not only of the honour of the immor- 
tal God, but of all good order and government, as 
leading into looseness, idleness, ignorance and effem- 
inacy, the great canker, and bane of all states and 
empires. But such is the latitudinarian impudence 
of this age, that they canonize themselves for saints, 
if not guilty of every Newgate-filth, and kennel-impi- 
ety. The pretended innocency of these things steals 
away their minds from that which is better into the 
love of them : nay, it gives them confidence to plead 
for them, and by no means will they think the contra- 
ry: but why? because it is a liberty that feeds the 
flesh, and gratifies the lustful eye and palate of poor 
mortality : wherefore they think it a laudable condi- 
tion to be no better than the beast that eats and drinks 
but what his nature doth require, although the num- 



212 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



ber is very small of such ; so very exorbitant are men 
and women grown in this present age. For either 
they do believe their actions are to be ruled by their 
own wills ; or else, at best, that not to be stained with 
the vilest wickedness is matter of great boasting : and 
indeed it is so, in a time when nothing is too wicked 
to be done. But certainly, it is a sign of universal 
impiety in a land, when not to be guilty of sins, which 
the very heathens loathed, is to be virtuous, yes, and 
Christian too, and that to no small degree of reputa- 
tion : a dismal symptom to a country ! But is it not 
to be greatly blinded, that those we call infidels 
should detest those practices as infamous, which peo- 
ple, who call themselves Christians, cannot or will 
not see to be such, but gild them over with the fair 
titles of ornaments, decency, recreation, and the like. 
My friends, if there were no God, no heaven, no hell, 
no holy examples, no Jesus Christ, who in cross, doc- 
trine and life is to be conformed unto ; yet would 
charity to the poor, help to the needy, peace among 
neighbours, visits to the sick, care of the widow and 
fatherless, with the rest of those temporal good offices 
already repeated, be a nobler employment, and much 
more worthy of your expense and pains. Nor indeed 
is it to be conceived, that the way to glory is smoothed 
with such variety of carnal pleasures ; for then con- 
viction, a wounded spirit, a broken heart, a regenerate 
mind, in a word, immortality would prove as mere 
fictions, as some make them, and others therefore 
think them : no, these practices are forever to be ex- 
tinguished, and expelled all Christian society. For I 
affirm, that to one who internally knows God, and 
hath a sense of his blessed presence, all such recrea- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 213 

tions are death ; yea, more dangerously evil, and more 
apt to steal away the mind from the heavenly exercise, 
than grosser impieties. For these are so big, they are 
plainly seen ; so dirty that they are easily detected : 
education and common temperance, as well as consti- 
tution in many, teach us to abhor them ; and if they 
should be committed, they carry with them a propor- 
tional conviction. But these pretended innocents, 
these supposed harmless satisfactions, are more sur- 
prising, more destructive ; for as they easily gain an 
admission by the senses, so the more they pretend to 
innocency, the more they secure the minds of people 
in the common use of them ; till they become so insen- 
sible of their evil consequences, that with a mighty 
confidence they can plead for them. 

10. But as this is plainly not to deny themselves, 
but, on the contrary, to employ the vain inventions of 
carnal men and women to gratify the desire of the eye, 
the desire of the flesh, and the pride of life ; all which 
exercise the mind below the divine and only true plea- 
sure, (or else, tell me what does ?) so, be it known to 
such, that the heavenly life and Christian joys are of 
another kind, as hath already been expressed. The 
true disciples of the Lord Christ must be hereunto 
crucified, as to objects and employments which attract 
downwards, and their affections raised to a more 
sublime and spiritual conversation, to use this world, 
even in its most innocent enjoyments, as if they used 
it not. If they take pleasure in anything below, it 
should be in such good offices as before-mentioned ; 
whereby a benefit may redound in some respect to 
others: in which God is honoured over all visible 
things, the nation relieved, the government bettered, 



214 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



themselves rendered exemplary of good, and thereby 
entitled to present happiness and a sweet memorial 
with posterity, as well as to a seat at his right hand, 
where there are joys and pleasures forever : than 
which, there can be nothing more honourable, nothing 
more certain, world without end. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

1. Luxury should not be used by Christians, because of its inconsist- 
ency with the spirit of Christianity. 2. The cup of which Christ's 
true disciples drink. 3. O! who will drink of this cup? 4. An 
objection answered of the nature of God's kingdom, and what it 
stands in. 5. Of the frame of the spirit of Christ's followers. 

1. The luxury opposed in this discourse, should not 
be allowed among Christians, because that which 
invents it, delights in it, and pleads so strongly for it, 
is inconsistent with the true spirit of Christianity ; nor 
doth the very nature of the Christian religion admit 
thereof. Immortality and eternal life were brought to 
light, that all the invented pleasures of mortal life in 
which the world lives, might be denied and relin- 
quished ; and for this reason it is, that nothing less 
than immense rewards and eternal mansions are pro- 
mised, that men and women might be encouraged 
willingly to forsake the vanity and fleshly satisfactions 
of the world, and encounter with boldness the shame 
and sufferings they must expect to receive at the 
hand it may be, of their nearest intimates and rela- 
tions. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



215 



If the Christian religion admitted the possession of 
this world in any other sense, than the simple and 
naked use of those creatures, really given of God for 
the necessity and convenience of the whole creation ; 
for instance, did it allow all that pride, vanity, curios- 
ity, pomp, exchange of apparel, honours, preferments, 
fashions, and the customary recreations of the world, 
with whatever may delight and gratify their senses ; 
then what need of a daily cross, a self-denying life, 
" working out our salvation with fear and trembling," 
seeking the things that are above, having the treasure 
and heart in heaven, no idle talking, no vain jesting, 
but fearing and meditating all the day long, undergo- 
ing reproach, scorn, hard usage, bitter mockings, and 
cruel deaths ? What need of these things, and why 
should they be expected in order to that glorious im- 
mortality and eternal crown ; if the vanity, pride, ex- 
pense, idleness, concupiscence, envy, malice, and 
whole manner of living among the (called) Christians, 
were allowed by the Christian religion? No, cer- 
tainly ; but as the Lord Jesus Christ well knew in 
what foolish trifles and vain pleasures, as well as 
grosser impieties, the minds of men and women were 
fixed, and how much they were degenerated from the 
heavenly spirit of life, unto a lustful or unlawful seek- 
ing after the enjoyments of this perishing world, nay 
daily inventing new satisfactions to gratify their carnal 
appetites, so did he foresee the difficulty all would 
have to relinquish and forsake them at his call, and 
with what great unwillingness they would take their 
leave of them, and be weaned from them. Wherefore 
to induce them to it, he did not speak unto them in 
the language of the law, that they should have an 



216 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



earthly Canaan, great dignities, a numerous issue, a 
long life, and the like ; but rather the contrary, at 
least to take these things in their course. He speaks 
to them in a higher strain. He assures them of a king- 
dom and a crown that are immortal, that neither time, 
cruelty, death, grave or hell, with all its instruments, 
shall ever be able to disappoint, or take away from 
those that should believe and obey him. Further, that 
they should be taken into the near alliance of loving 
friends, yea, the intimate divine relation of dear bre- 
thren, and co-heirs with him of celestial happiness, 
and a glorious immortality. If it be recorded that those 
who heard not Moses were to die, much more shall 
they who refuse to hear and obey the precepts of this 
great and eternal Rewarder of all who diligently seek 
and follow him. 

2. And therefore it was that he was pleased to give 
us, in his own example, a taste of what his disciples 
must expect to drink deeply ; namely, the cup of self- 
denial, cruel trials, and most bitter afflictions. He 
came not to consecrate a way to the eternal rest through 
gold and silver, ribbons, laces, paints, perfumes, costly 
clothes, curious trims, exact dresses, rich jewels, plea- 
sant recreations, plays, treats, balls, masques, revels, 
romances, love-songs, and the like pastimes of the 
world : no, no, but by forsaking all such entertain- 
ments, yea, and sometimes more lawful enjoyments 
too ; and cheerfully undergoing the loss of all on the one 
hand, and the reproach, ignominy, and cruel persecu- 
tion of ungodly men on the other. He needed not to 
have wanted such variety of worldly pleasures, had 
they been suitable to the nature of his kingdom. He 
was tempted, as are his followers, with no less bait 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 217 

than all the glories of the world ; but he command- 
ed to " seek another country, and to lay up trea- 
sures in the heavens that fade not away," and there- 
fore charged them, never to be much inquisitive about 
what they should eat, drink, or put on, because saith 
he " after these things the gentiles, that know not God, 
do seek;" (and Christians that pretend to know him 
too ;) " but, having food and raiment, therewith be 
content." He who enjoined this doctrine, and led 
that holy and heavenly example, even the Lord Jesus 
Christ, bade them that would be his disciples, " take 
up the same cross, and follow him." 

3. O who will follow him ? Who will be true 
Christians? We must not think to steer another 
course, or drink of another cup than the Captain of 
our salvation hath done before us : No : no ; for it is 
the very question he asked James and John, the sons 
of Zebedee of old, when they desired to sit at his right 
and left hand in his kingdom, "Are ye able to drink 
of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized 
with the baptism that I am baptized withal ?" other- 
wise no disciples, no Christians. Whoever they are 
that would come to Christ, and be right Christians, 
must readily abandon every delight that would steal 
away the affections of the mind, and exercise it from 
the divine spirit of life, and must freely write a bill of 
divorce for every beloved vanity ; and all, under the 
Sun of righteousness, is so, compared with him. 

4. But some are ready to object, (who will not seem 
to want Scripture for their lusts, although it be evi- 
dently misapplied) " The kingdom of God stands not 
in meats or in drinks, or in apparel," &c. Ans. 
Right : therefore it is that we stand out of them. But 

19 



218 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



surely, you have the least reason of any to object this 
to us, who make those things so necessary to conver- 
sation, that our not conforming to them renders us 
obnoxious to your reproach. How Christian this is, 
or how far it resembles the righteousness, peace, and 
joy in which the heavenly kingdom stands, let the 
just principle in your own consciences determine. 
Our conversation stands in temperance, and that stands 
in righteousness, by which we have obtained a king- 
dom your latitude and excess have no share or interest 
in. If none can be true disciples, but they that come 
to bear the daily cross, and none bear the cross, but 
those who follow the example of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, through his baptism, and afflictions and temp- 
tations ; and none are so baptized with him, but those 
whose minds are retired from the vanities in which the 
generality of the world live, and become obedient to 
the holy light and divine grace, with which they have 
been enlightened from on high, and thereby are daily 
exercised to the crucifying of every contrary affection, 
and bringing immortality to light ; if none are true 
disciples, but such, (as most undoubtedly they are not,) 
then let the people of these days soberly reflect upon 
themselves, and they will conclude, that none who 
live and delight in these vain customs, and this un- 
christlike conversation, can be true Christians, or dis- 
ciples of the crucified Jesus ; for otherwise, how 
would it be a cross, or the Christian life, matter of 
difficulty and reproach ? No, the offence of the cross 
would soon cease, which is the power of God to them 
that believe : that every lust and vanity may be sub- 
dued, and the creature brought into an holy subjection 
of mind to the heavenly will of its Creator. For there- 



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219 



fore has it been said, that Jesus Christ was and is 
manifested, that by his holy, self-denying life and doc- 
trine, he might put a baffle upon the proud minds of 
men, and by the immortality he brought, and daily 
brings, to light, might stain the glory of their fading 
rests and pleasures ; that having their minds weaned 
from them, and being crucified thereunto, they might 
seek another country, and obtain an everlasting inhe- 
ritance : " for the things that are seen are temporal," 
and these all true Christians are to be redeemed from 
resting in ; but the things that are " not seen, are 
eternal," to which all are to be brought and have their 
affections chiefly fixed upon. 

5. Wherefore a true disciple of the Lord Jesus 
Christ is to have his mind so conversant about heaven- 
ly things, that the things of this world may be used as 
if they were not : having such things as are " ne- 
cessary and convenient, he is to be therewith con- 
tent," without the superfluity of the world, whereby 
the pleasure, that in times of ignorance was taken in 
the customs and fashions of the world, may more 
abundantly be supplied in the hidden and heavenly 
life of Jesus : for unless there be an abiding in Christ, 
it will be impossible to bring forth that much fruit 
which he requires at the hands of his followers, and 
wherein his Father is glorified. It is clear, that such 
as live in the vanities, pleasures, recreations, and lusts 
of the world, abide not in him, neither know him : for 
they that know him depart from iniquity ; so is their 
abiding and delighting in those bewitching follies, the 
very reason why they are so ignorant and insensible of 
him : " Him who continually stands knocking at the 
door of their hearts," in whom they ought to abide, 



220 



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and whose divine power they should know to be the 
cross on which every beloved lust and alluring vanity 
should be crucified ; that so they might feel the hea- 
venly life to spring up in their hearts, and themselves 
to be quickened to seek the things that are above ; 
" that when Christ shall appear, they might appear 
with him in glory, who is over all, God blessed for 
ever. Amen." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

1. The customs, fashions, &.c. which make up the attire and pleasure 
of the age, are enemies to inward retirement. 2. Their end is to 
gratify lust. 3. Had they been solid, Adam and Eve had not been 
happy, who never had them. 4. But the confidence and presump. 
tion of Christians (as they would be called) in the use of them, 
is abominable. 5. Their authors farther condemn them, who are 
usually loose and vain people. 6. Mostly borrowed of the Gentiles, 
that knew not God. 7. An objection of their usefulness considered 
and answered, and the objectors reproved. 8. The best heathens 
abhorring what pretended Christians plead for. 9. The use of these 
things encourages the authors and makers of them to continue in 
them. 10. The objection of the maintenance of families answered. 
None must do evil, that good should follow : but better employs may 
be found more serviceable to the world. 11. Another objection an- 
swered : God no author of their inventions, and so not excusable by 
his institution. 12. People pleading for these vanities, show what 
they are. An exhortation to be weighty and considerate. A great 
part of the way to true discipleship is, to abandon this school and 
shop of satan. 

1. Those customs and fashions, which make up the 
common attire and conversation of the times, do emi- 
nently obstruct the inward retirement of people's 



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225 



concern some benefit to themselves, or needy neigh- 
bours ; pleasing themselves with the ideas of those 
toys and fopperies in their loose and airy minds. And 
if in all things they cannot practice them, because 
they want the means, yet, as much as may be, at least 
they dote upon them, are taken with them, and will- 
ingly suffer their thoughts to be hurried after them. 
All these greatly indispose the minds, and distract the 
souls of people from the divine life and spirit of the 
holy Jesus : but, as it hath been often said, more 
especially the minds of the younger sort, to whom the 
like divertisements, (where their inclinations being 
presented with what is very suitable to them, become 
excited to more vanity than ever they thought upon 
before,) are incomparably dearer than all that can be 
said of God's fear, a retired life, eternal rewards, and 
joys unspeakable and full of glory. So vain, so blind, 
and so very insensible are men and women, of what 
truly makes a disciple of Christ ! ! that they would 
ponder these things, and watch (out of all these vani- 
ties) for the coming of the Lord, lest being unpre- 
pared and taken up with other guests, they enter not 
into his everlasting rest. 

5. That which farther manifests the unlawfulness of 
these fashions and recreations is, that they are either 
the inventions of vain, idle, and wanton minds, to 
gratify their own sensualities, and raise the like wicked 
curiosity in others to imitate them ; by which nothing 
but lust and folly are promoted : or the contrivances 
of indigent and impoverished wits, who make it the 
way for their maintenance ; upon both which consid- 
erations, they ought to be detested. For the first 
licenses express impiety ; and the latter countenances 



226 



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a wretched way of livelihood, and consequently di- 
verts from more lawful, more serviceable, and more 
necessary employments. That such persons are both 
the inventors and actors of all these follies, cannot be 
difficult to demonstrate : for were it possible that any 
one could bring us father Adam's girdle, and mother 
Eve's apron, what laughing, what fleering, what mock- 
ing of their homely fashion would there be ? surely 
their tailor would find but little custom, although we 
read, it was God himself "that made them coats of 
skins." The like may be asked of all the other vanities, 
concerning the holy men and women through all the 
generations of holy writ. How many pieces of riband, 
and what feathers, lace-bands, and the like, did Adam 
and Eve wear in paradise, or out of it ? What rich 
embroideries, silks, points, &c, had Abel, Enoch, 
Noah, and good old Abraham ? Did Eve, Sarah, Su- 
sannah, Elizabeth, and the Virgin Mary use to curl, 
powder, patch, paint, wear false locks of strange co- 
lours, rich points, trimmings, laced gowns, embroider- 
ed petticoats, shoes with slipslaps laced with silk or 
silver lace, and ruffled like pidgeons' feet, with several 
yards, if not pieces of ribands ? How many plays did 
Jesus Christ and his apostles recreate themselves at ? 
What poems, romances, comedies, and the like, did 
the apostles and saints make, or use to pass away their 
time withal ? I know they bid all " redeem their time, 
to avoid foolish talking, vain jesting, profane babblings 
and fabulous stories ; as what tend to ungodliness : 
and rather to watch ; to work out their salvation with 
fear and trembling, to flee foolish and youthful lusts, 
and to follow righteousness, peace, goodness, love, 
charity; and to mind the things that are above, as 



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227 



they would have honour, glory, immortality, and eter- 
nal life." 

6. But if I were asked, Whence came they then ? 
I could quickly answer, From the Gentiles, that knew 
not God ; for some amongst them detested them, as 
will be shown ; they were the pleasures of an effemi- 
nate Sardanapalus, a fantastic Miracles, a comical 
Aristophanes, a prodigal Charaxus, a luxurious Aris- 
tippus ; and the practices of such women as the infa- 
mous Clytemnestra, the painted Jezebel, the lascivious 
Campaspe, the immodest Posthumia, the costly Corin- 
thian Lais, the most impudent Flora, the wanton Egyp- 
tian Cleopatra, and most insatiable Messalina : persons 
whose memories have stunk through all ages, and that 
carry with them a perpetual rot. These, and not the 
holy self-denying men and women in ancient times, 
were devoted to the like recreations and vain delights. 
Nay, the more sober of the very heathens themselves, 
and that upon a principle of great virtue, as is by all 
confessed, detested the like folly and wanton practices. 
There is none of them to be found in Plato, or in Se- 
neca's works : Pythagoras, Socrates, Phocion, Zeno, 
&c, did not accustom themselves to these entertain- 
ments. The virtuous Penelope, the chaste Lucretia, 
the grave Cornelia, and modest Pontia, with many 
others, could find themselves employment enough 
amongst their children, servants, and neighbours ; 
they, though nobles, next to their devotion, delighted 
most in spinning, weaving, gardening, needle-work, 
and such like good housewifery, and commendable 
entertainment. Though called heathens, they ex- 
pressed much more Christianity in their actions, than 
do the wanton, foolish people of this age, who not- 



228 



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withstanding will be called Christians. But above all, 
you play-mongers, whence think you came your pas- 
sionately beloved comedies, than which, as there is 
not any one diversion that is more pernicious, so not 
one more in esteem, and fondly frequented ? I will 
tell you. Their great grandfather was an heathen, 
and that not of the best sort : his name was Epichar- 
mus. It is true, he is called a philosopher, or a lover 
of wisdom ; but he was only so by name, and no more 
one in reality than the comedians of these times are 
true Christians. It is reported of him by Suidas, a 
Greek historian, that he was the first man who invent- 
ed comedies ; and by the help of one Phormus, he 
made also fifty fables. But would you know his coun- 
try, and the reason of his invention ? His country 
was Syracuse, the chief city in Sicily, famous for the 
infamy of many tyrants ; to please and gratify the lusts 
of some of whom, he set his wits to work. Do not 
you think this an ill original ? and is it less in any one 
to imitate or justify the same, since the more sober 
heathens have themselves condemned them ? Nay, is 
it not abominable, when such as call themselves Chris- 
tians both imitate and justify the like inventions ? Nor 
had the melancholy tragedies a better parentage, name- 
ly, one Thespis, an Athenian poet ; to whom they also 
ascribe the original of that impudent custom of paint- 
ing faces, and the counterfeit or representation of other 
persons, by change of habit, humours, &c, all which 
are now so much in use and reputation with the great 
ones of the times. To these let me add that poetical 
amoroso, whom an inordinate passion of love first 
transported to those poetical raptures of admiration, 
indeed sordid effeminacy, if not idolatry. They call 



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229 



him Alcman, or Alcina, a Lydian : he, being exceed- 
ingly in love with a young woman of his own country, 
is said to have been the first person that gave the world 
a sight of that kind of folly, namely, love-stories and 
verses ; which have been so diligently imitated by 
almost all nations ever since in their romances. 

7. I know that some will say, But we have many 
comedies and tragedies, sonnets, &c, that are on pur- 
pose to reprehend vice, from whence we learn many 
commendable things. Though this be shameful, yet 
many for want of shame or understanding, or both, 
have returned me this for answer. Now I readily 
confess, that amongst the heathens, it was the next 
remedy against the common vices, to the more 
grave and moral lectures of their philosophers, of 
which number I shall instance two : Euripides, whom 
Suidas calls a learned tragical poet, and Eupolis, 
whom the same historian calls a comical poet. The 
first was a man so chaste, and therefore so unlike 
those of our days, that he was called Mia-eyw^ or one 
that hated women, that is, wanton women, for he was 
twice married : the other he characters as a most se- 
vere reprehender of faults. From which I gather, 
that their design was not to feed the idle, lazy fancies 
of people, nor merely to get money ; but since by the 
means of loose wits, the people had been debauched, 
their work was to reclaim them, rendering vice ridicu- 
lous, and turning wit against wickedness. And this 
appears from the description given, as also that Eurip- 
ides was supposed to have been torn in pieces by 
wanton women ; which doubtless was for declaiming 
against their impudence. The other being slain in 
the battle betwixt the Athenians and Lacedemonians, 
20 



230 



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was so regretted, that a law was made, that never after, 
such poets should be allowed to bear arms; probably 
because in losing him, they lost a reprover of vice. 
So that the end of the approved comedians and tra- 
gedians of those times was but to reform the people, 
by making sin odious : and that not so much in a 
rational and argumentative way, usual with their phi- 
losophers, as by sharp jeers, severe reflections, and 
rendering their vicious actions so shameful, ridiculous, 
and detestable, that for reputation sake they might no 
longer be guilty of them : which to me is but little softer 
than a whip, or a Bridewell. Now if you who plead 
for them, will be contented to be accounted heathens, 
and those of the more dissolute and wicked sort too, 
that will sooner be jeered than argued out of your 
sins, we shall acknowledge to you, that such come- 
dies and tragedies as these may be serviceable. But 
then for shame, abuse not the name of Jesus Christ 
so impudently, as to call yourselves Christians, whose 
lusts are so strong, that you are forced to use the low 
shifts of heathens to repel them : to leave their evils 
not for the love of virtue, but out of fear, shame, or re- 
putation. Is this your love to Jesus ? your reverence to 
the Scriptures, which, through faith, are able to make 
the " man of God perfect ?" Is all your prattle about 
ordinances, prayers, sacraments, Christianity, and the 
like, come to this : that at last you must betake your- 
selves to such instructors, as were by the sober hea- 
thens permitted to reclaim the most vicious of the 
people that were amongst them ? and remedies too, 
below which there is nothing but corporal punish- 
ment ? 

8. This is so far from Christianity, that many of the 



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231 



nobler heathens, men and women, were better taught 
and better disposed, they found out more heavenly 
contemplations, and subjects of an eternal nature to 
meditate upon. Nay, so far did they outstrip the 
Christians of these times, that they not only were ex- 
emplary by their grave and sober conversation, but, 
for the public benefit, the Athenians instituted the 
Gynaecosmi, or Twenty Men, who should make it 
their business to observe the people's apparel and be- 
haviour : that if any were found immodest, and to de- 
mean themselves loosely, they had full authority to 
punish them. But the case is altered ; it is punisha- 
ble to reprove such ; yes, it is a matter of the greatest 
contumely and reproach. Nay, so impudent are some 
grown in their impieties, that they sport themselves 
with such religious persons ; and not only manifest a 
great neglect of piety, and a severe life, by their own 
looseness, but their extreme contempt of it, by render- 
ing it ridiculous through comical and abusive jests on 
public stages. How dangerous this is, and apt to 
make religion little worth in the people's eyes, beside 
the demonstration of this age, let us remember that 
Aristophanes had not a readier way to bring the repu- 
tation of Socrates in question with the people, who 
greatly reverenced him for his grave and virtuous life, 
and doctrine, than by abusive representation of him 
in a play: which made the airy, wanton, unstable 
crowd rather part with Socrates in earnest, than Soc- 
rates in jest. Nor can a better reason be given, why 
the poor Quakers are made so much the scorn of men, 
than because of their severe reprehensions of sin and 
vanity, and their self-denying conversation amidst so 
great intemperance in all worldly satisfactions. Yet 



232 



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such libertines all this while strut and swell for Chris- 
tians, and stout it out against precept and example ; 
but we must be whimsical, conceited, morose, melan- 
choly, or else heretics, deceivers, and what not ? O 
blindness ! pharisaical hypocrisy ! as if such were fit 
to be judges of religion, or that it were possible for 
them to have a sight and sense of true religion, or 
really to be religious, whilst darkened in their under- 
standing by the god of the pleasures of this world, 
and their minds so wrapped up in external enjoyments, 
and the variety of worldly delights. No ; in the name 
of the everlasting God, you mock him, and deceive 
your souls ; for the wrath of the Almighty is against 
you all, whilst in that spirit and condition : in vain 
are all your talking and set performances ; God 
laughs you to scorn ; his anger is kindling because of 
these things. Wherefore be ye warned to temperance, 
and repent. 

9. Besides, this sort of people are not only wicked, 
loose and vain, who both invent and act these things ; 
but by your great delight in such inventions, you en- 
courage them therein, and hinder them from more 
honest and more serviceable employments. For what 
is the reason that most commodities are held at such 
excessive rates, but because labour is so very dear? 
And why is it so, but because so many hands are 
otherwise bestowed, even about the very vanity of all 
vanities ? Nay, how common is it with these merce- 
nary procurers to people's folly, that when their purses 
begin to grow low, they present them with a new, and 
pretendedly more convenient fashion ; and that per- 
haps, before the former costly habits shall have done 
half their service : which either must be given away, 



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233 



or new vampt in the cut most alamode. prodigal, 
yet frequent folly ! 

10. I know I am coming to encounter the most 
plausible objection they are used to urge, when driven 
to a pinch, viz. : " But how shall those many families 
subsist, whose livelihood depends upon such fashions 
and recreations as you so earnestly decry ?" I an- 
swer : It is a bad argument to plead for the commis- 
sion of the least evil, that good may come of it. If 
you and they have made wickedness your pleasure 
and your profit, be ye content that it should be your 
grief and punishment, till the one can learn to be 
without such vanity, and the others have found out 
more honest employments. It is the vanity of the few 
great ones that makes so much toil for the many 
small ; and the great excess of the one occasions the 
great labour of the other. Would men learn to be 
contented with few things, such as are necessary and 
convenient, the ancient Christian life, all things might 
be at a cheaper rate, and men might live for little. If 
the landlords had fewer lusts to satisfy, the tenants 
might have less rent to pay, and turn from poor to 
rich, whereby they might be able to find more honest 
and domestic employments for their children, than be^ 
coming sharpers, and living by their wits, which is 
but a better word for their sins. And if the report of 
the more intelligent in husbandry be credible, lands 
are generally improvable ten in twenty. Were there 
more hands about more lawful and serviceable manu- 
factures, they would be cheaper, and greater vent 
might be made of them, by which a benefit would re- 
dound to the world in general. Nay, the burden lies 
the heavier upon the laborious country, that so many 
20* 



234 



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hands and shoulders as the lust-caterers of the cities 
employ, should be wanting to the plough and useful 
husbandry. 

If men never think themselves rich enough, they 
may never miss of trouble and employment ; but those 
who can take the primitive state and God's creation 
for their model, may learn with a little to be content- 
ed ; knowing that desires after wealth do not only 
prevent or destroy true faith, but that when got, it 
increases snares and trouble. It is no evil to repent 
of evil ; but that cannot be, whilst men maintain what 
they should repent of: it is a bad argument to avoid 
temperance, or justify the contrary, because otherwise 
the actors and inventors of the excess would want a 
livelihood ; since to feed them in that way is to nurse 
the cause, instead of starving it. Let such of those 
vanity-hucksters as have got sufficient, be contented 
to retreat and spend it more honestly than they have 
got it ; and such as really are poor, be rather helped 
by charity to better callings ; this were more pru- 
dent, nay, Christian, than to consume money upon 
such foolish toys and fopperies. Public work-houses 
would be effectual remedies to all these lazy and lust- 
ful distempers, with more profit, and a better con- 
science. 

Therefore it is that we cannot, we dare not, square our 
conversation by the world's : no, but by our plainness 
and moderation to testify against such extravagant 
vanities ; and by our grave and steady life to mani- 
fest our dislike, on God's behalf, to such intemperate 
and wanton curiosity; yea, to deny ourselves what 
otherwise perhaps we lawfully could use with a just 
indifferency, if not satisfaction, because of its abuse 
amongst the generality. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



235 



11. I know, that some are ready farther to object ; 
££ Hath God given us these enjoyments on purpose to 
damn us if we use them ?" Answer. To such mise- 
rable, poor, silly souls, who would rather charge the 
most high and holy God with the invention or crea- 
tion of their dirty vanities, than want a plea to justify 
their own practice, not knowing how for shame, or 
fear, or love, to throw them off; I answer, that what 
God made for man's use was good ; and what the 
blessed Lord Jesus Christ allowed, or enjoined, or 
gave us in his most heavenly example, is to be ob- 
served, believed, and practised. But in the whole 
catalogue which the Scriptures give of both, I never 
found the attires, recreations, and way of living, so 
much in request with the generality of the Christians of 
these times. No certainly. God created man an holy, 
wise, sober, grave, and reasonable creature, fit to 
govern himself and the world ; but Divinity was then 
the great object of his reason and pleasure ; all exter- 
nal enjoyments of God's giving being for 'necessity, 
convenience, and lawful delight, with this proviso too, 
that the Almighty was to be seen, and sensibly en- 
joyed and reverenced, in every one of them. But 
how very wide the Christians of these times are from 
this primitive institution is not difficult to determine, 
although they make such loud pretensions to that most 
holy J esus, who not only gave the world a certain 
evidence of an happy restoration, by his own coming, 
but promised his assistance to all who would follow 
him in the self-denial and way of his holy cross ; and 
therefore hath severely enjoined it on all, as they would 
be everlastingly saved. But let their conscience de- 
clare whether the minds of men and women are not 



236 



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as profoundly involved in all excess and vanity, as 
those who know him not any farther than by hearsay ; 
and whether being thus banished from the presence 
of the Lord, by greedily seeking the things that are 
below, and thereby having lost the taste of divine 
pleasure, they have not feigned to themselves an ima- 
ginary pleasure, to quiet or smother conscience, and 
pass their time without that anguish and trouble, 
which are the consequences of sin, that so they might 
be at ease and security while in the world. Adam's 
temptation is represented by the fruit of a tree ; there- 
by intimating the great influence external objects, as 
they exceed in beauty, carry with them upon our 
senses : so that unless the mind keep upon its con- 
stant watch, so prevalent are visible things, that it is 
hard for one to escape being ensnared in them. We 
need to be only sometimes entrapped, to cast so thick 
a veil of darkness over the mind, that not only it shall 
w T ith pleasure continue in its fetters to lust and vanity, 
but proudly censure such as refuse to wear them, 
strongly pleading for them, as serviceable and conve- 
nient. This strange passion do perishing objects 
raise in those minds, where way is made, and enter- 
tainment given to them. But Christ Jesus is mani- 
fested in us, and hath given unto us a taste and under- 
standing of him that is true : and to all, such a mea- 
sure of his good Spirit, as is sufficient, would they 
obey it, to redeem their minds from the captivity they 
have been in to lust and vanity, and entirely ransom 
them from the dominion of all visible objects, and 
whatsoever may gratify the desires of the eye, the lust 
of the flesh, and the pride of life, that they might be 
regenerated in their minds, changed in their affections, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



237 



and have their whole hearts set on things that are 
above, where neither moth nor rust can ever enter, to 
harm or destroy. 

12. But it is a manifest sign, of what mould and 
make those persons are, who practise and plead for 
such Egyptian shameful rags, as pleasures. It is to 
be hoped that they never knew, or to be feared they 
have forgot, the humble, plain, meek, holy, self-de- 
nying, and exemplary life, which the eternal Spirit 
sanctifies all obedient hearts into ; yea, it is indubita- 
ble, that either such always have been ignorant, or 
else that they have lost sight, of that good land, that 
heavenly country and blessed inheritance, of which 
they once had some glimmering prospect. O that 
they would but withdraw awhile, sit down, weigh and 
consider with themselves, where they are, and w^hose 
work and will they are doing ! that they would once 
believe the devil hath not a stratagem more pernicious 
to their immortal souls, than this of exercising their 
minds in the foolish fashions and wanton recreations 
of the times ! Great and gross impieties beget a detes- 
tation in the opinion of sober education and reputation. 
Therefore since the devil sees such things have no 
success with many, it is his next and most fatal design 
to find some other entertainments, that carry less in- 
fection in their looks, though more security, because 
less scandal and more pleasure in their enjoyment, 
on purpose to busy and arrest people from a dili- 
gent search and inquiry after those matters, which 
necessarily concern their eternal peace : that being 
ignorant of the heavenly life they may not be induced 
to press after it : Being only formally religious, ac- 
cording to the traditions and precepts of others, they 



238 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



proceed to their common pleasures, and find no check 
therefrom, their religion and conversation for the most 
part agreeing well together, whereby an improvement 
in the knowledge of God, a going on from grace to 
grace, a growing to the measure of the stature of Jesus 
Christ himself is not known ; but as it was in the be- 
ginning at seven, so it is at seventy; nay, not so 
innocent, unless by reason of the saying, Old men are 
twice children. Oh ! the mystery of godliness, the 
heavenly life, the true Christian, are another thing ! 
We conclude then, that as the design of the devil, 
where he cannot involve and draw into gross sin, is 
to busy, delight, and allure the minds of men and 
women, by more seeming innocent entertainments, on 
purpose that he may more easily secure them from 
minding their duty and progress, and obedience to the 
only true God, which is eternal life ; and thereby take 
their minds from heavenly and eternal things ; so those 
who would be delivered from these snares should mind 
the holy, just, grave, and self-denying teachings of 
God's grace and spirit in themselves, that they may 
reject and forever abandon the like vanity and evil; 
and by a reformed conversation, condemn the world 
of its intemperance : thus will the true discipleship be 
obtained ; for otherwise many enormous consequences 
and pernicious effects will follow. It is to encourage 
such impious persons to continue and proceed in the 
like trades of feeding the people's lusts, and thereby 
such make themselves partakers of their plagues, who, 
by continual fresh desires for the like curiosities, and 
that way of spending time and estate, induce them to 
spend more time in studying how to " abuse time ;" 
lest through their pinching and small allowance, those 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



239 



prodigals should call their Father's house to mind. 
For whatsoever any think to the contrary, more plea- 
sant baits, alluring objects, grateful entertainments, 
cunning emissaries, acceptable sermons, insinuating 
lectures, or taking orators, the crafty devil has never 
had, by which to entice and ensnare the minds of 
people, and totally to divert them from heavenly re- 
flections, and divine meditations, than the attire, 
sports, plays and pastimes of this godless age, the 
school and shop of satan, hitherto so reasonably con- 
demned. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

. But if these customs, &c. were but indifferent, yet being abused, 
they deserve to be rejected. 2. The abuse is acknowledged by those 
that use them, therefore should leave them. 3. Such as pretend to 
seriousness, should exemplarily withdraw from such latitudes : a 
wise parent weans his child of what it dotes too much upon : and we 
should watch over ourselves and neighbours. 4. God, in the case of 
the brazen serpent, &c. gives us an example to put away the use of 
abused things. 5. If these things were sometimes convenient, yet 
when their use is prejudicial in example, they should be disused. 
6. Such as yet proceed to love their unlawful pleasures more than 
Christ and his cross, the mischief they have brought to persons and 
estates, bodies and souls. 7. Ingenuous people know this to be 
true ; an appeal to God's witness in the guilty : their state that of 
Babylon. 8. But temperance in food, and plainness in apparel, and 
sober conversation, conduce most to good : so the apostle teaches in 
his epistles. 9. Temperance enriches a land : it is a political good, 
as well as a religious one in all governments. 10. When people 
have done their duty to God, it will be time enough to think of pleas- 
ing themselves. 11. An address to the magistrates, and all people, 
how to convert their time and money to better purposes. 

1. Should these things be as indifferent, as they are 



240 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



proved perniciously unlawful, for I never heard any 
advance their plea beyond the bounds of mere indiffer- 
ency, yet so great is their abuse, so universal the sad 
effects thereof, like an infection, that they therefore 
ought to be rejected of all, especially those, whose 
sobriety hath preserved them from that excess, or 
whose judgments, though themselves be guilty, sug- 
gest the folly of such intemperance. For what is an 
indifferent thing, but that which may be done or left 
undone ? Granting this were the case, yet both reason 
and religion teach, that when they are used with such 
an excess of appetite, that to leave them would be a 
cross to their desires, they have exceeded the bounds 
of mere indifferency, and are thereby rendered no less 
than necessary. Which being a violation of the very 
nature of the things themselves, a perfect abuse enters ; 
and consequently they are no longer to be considered 
in the rank of things simply indifferent, but unlawful. 

2. Now that those things against which I have so 
earnestly contended, are generally abused by the ex- 
cess of almost all ages, sexes, and qualities of people, 
will be confessed by many, who yet decline not to 
conform themselves to them ; and to whom, as I have 
understood, it seems lawful, because say they, the 
abuse of others should be no argument why we should 
not use them. But to such I answer, that they have 
quite forgotten, or will not remember, they have ac- 
knowledged these things to be but of an indifferent 
nature : if so, (and vanity never urged more,) I say, 
there can be nothing more clear, than since they 
acknowledge their great abuse, they ought wholly to 
be forsaken. For since they may as well be let alone 
as done, at any time, surely they should of duty be let 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 241 

alone, when the use of them is abetting the general 
excess, and a mere exciting others to continue in their 
abuse, because they find that persons reputed sober 
imitate them, or give them an example : precepts are 
not half so forcible as examples. 

3. Every one that pretends to seriousness ought to 
inspect himself, as having been too forward to help on 
the excess, and can never make too much haste out of 
those inconveniencies, which by his former example 
he encouraged any to ; that by a new one, he may 
put a seasonable check upon the intemperance of 
others. A wise parent ever withdraws those objects, 
however innocent in themselves, which are too preva- 
lent upon the weak senses of his children, on purpose 
that they might be weaned. And it is as frequent 
with men to bend a crooked stick as much the con- 
trary way, that they may make it straight at last. Those 
that have more sobriety than others should not forget 
their stewardships, but exercise that gift of God to the 
security of their neighbours. It was murdering Cain 
who rudely asked the Lord, " If he was his brother's 
keeper ?" Every man is necessarily obliged thereto ; 
and therefore should be so wise, as to deny himself 
the use of such indifferent enjoyments, as cannot be 
used by him without a manifest encouragement to his 
neighbour's folly. 

4. God hath sufficiently excited men to what is said ; 
for in the case of the brazen serpent, which was an 
heavenly institution and type of Christ, he with great 
displeasure enjoined that it should be broken to pieces, 
because they were too fond and doting upon it. Yes, 
the very groves themselves, however pleasant for situ- 
ation, beautiful for their walks and trees, must be cut 

21 



242 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

down ; and why ? only because they had been abused 
to idolatrous uses. And what is an idol, but that 
which the mind puts an over-estimate or value upon ? 
None can benefit themselves so much by an indifferent 
thing, as others by not using that abused liberty. 

5. If those things were convenient in themselves, 
which is a step nearer necessity than mere indifferency, 
yet when by circumstances they become prejudicial, 
such conveniency itself ought to be given up ; much 
more what is but indifferent, should be denied. People 
ought not to weigh their private satisfactions more 
than public good ; nor please themselves in too free 
an use of indifferent things, at the cost of being really 
prejudicial to the public, as they certainly are, when 
the use of them (if no worse) becomes exemplary to 
others, and begets an impatience in their minds to 
have the like. Wherefore it is both reasonable and 
incumbent on all, to make only such things necessary, 
as tend to life and godliness, and to employ their free- 
dom with most advantage to their neighbours. So 
that here is a two-fold obligation ; the one not to be 
exemplary in the use of such things ; which, though 
they may use them, yet not without giving too much 
countenance to the abuse and excessive vanity of their 
neighbours. The other obligation is, that they ought 
so far to condescend to such religious people who are 
offended at these fashions, and that kind of conversa- 
tion, as to reject them. 

6. Those who, notwithstanding what I have urged, 
will yet proceed ; why is it, but that they have so in- 
volved themselves and their affections in them, that it 
is hardly possible to reform them ; and that, for all 
their many protestations against their fondness to such 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



243 



fopperies, they really love them more than Christ and 
his cross ? Such cannot seek the good of others, who 
so little respect their own. For, after a serious con- 
sideration, what vanity, pride, idleness, expense of 
time and estates, have been, and yet are ? How many 
persons debauched from their first sobriety, and women 
from their natural sweetness and innocency, to loose, 
airy, wanton, and many times more enormous prac- 
tices ? How many plentiful estates have been over- 
run by numerous debts, chastity ensnared by accursed 
lustful intrigues, youthful health overtaken by the hasty 
seizure of unnatural distempers, and the remaining 
days of such spent upon a rack procured by their 
vices, and so made slaves to the unmerciful but neces- 
sary effects of their own inordinate pleasures ? in which 
agony they vow the greatest temperance, but are no 
sooner out of it, than in their vice again. 

7. That these things are so, and almost innumerably 
more, I am persuaded no ingenuous person of any ex- 
perience will deny : how then, upon a serious reflec- 
tion, any that pretend conscience, or the fear of God 
Almighty, can longer continue in the garb, livery, and 
conversation of those whose life tends to little else 
than what I have repeated, much less join with them 
in their abominable excess, I leave to the Spirit of 
Truth in themselves to judge. No, surely ! this is not 
to obey the voice of God, who in all ages did loudly 
cry to all, " Come out (of what?) of the ways, fash- 
ions, converse, and spirit of Babylon !" What is that ? 
the great city of all these vain, foolish, wanton, super- 
fluous, and wicked practices, against which the Scrip- 
tures denounce most dreadful judgments ; ascribing 
all the intemperance of men and women to the cup 



244 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



of wickedness she hath given them to drink ; whose 
are the things indifferent, if they must be so. And for 
witness, hear what the Revelations say in her descrip- 
tion : " How much she hath glorified herself, and lived 
deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. 
And the kings of the earth, who have lived deliciously 
with her, shall bewail and lament for her ; and the 
merchants of the earth shall weep over her ; for no 
man buyeth their merchandise any more ; the mer- 
chandise of gold and silver, and precious stones, and 
of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and 
scarlet, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all 
manner of vessels of most precious wood ; and cin- 
namon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, 
and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and beasts, and 
slaves, and souls of men." Behold the character and 
judgment of luxury ; and though I know it hath a 
farther signification than what is literal, yet there is 
enough to show the pomp, plenty, fulness, idleness, 
ease, wantonness, vanity, lust, and excess of luxury 
that reign in her. But at the terrible day who will go 
to her exchange any more ? who to her plays ? who 
will follow her fashions then ? and who shall traffic in 
her delicate inventions ? Not one ; for she shall be 
judged. No plea shall excuse, or rescue her from the 
wrath of the Judge ; for strong is the Lord who will 
perform it. If yet these reasonable pleas will not 
prevail, I shall caution such, by the repetition of part 
of Babylon's miserable doom. Mind, my friends, more 
heavenly things ; hasten to obey that righteous Spirit, 
which would exercise and delight you in that which 
is eternal ; or else with Babylon, the mother of lust 
and vanity, the fruits which your souls lust after shall 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 245 

depart from you, and all things which are dainty and 
goodly shall depart from you, and you shall find them 
no more ! Lay your treasures therefore up in heaven, 
O ye inhabitants of the earth, where nothing can break 
through to harm them ; but where time shall shortly 
be swallowed up of eternity. 

8. But my arguments against these things end not 
here ; for the contrary most of all conduces to good, 
namely, " temperance in food, plainness in apparel ; 
with a meek, shame-faced, and quiet spirit, and that 
conversation which expresses the same in all godly 
honesty;" as the apostle saith, " Let no corrupt com- 
munication proceed out of your mouth, but that which 
is good to the use of edifying, that it may administer 
grace to the hearers ; neither filthiness, nor foolish 
talking, nor jesting, but rather giving of thanks : for 
let no man deceive you with vain words, because of 
these things cometh the wrath of God upon the chil- 
dren of disobedience." And if men and women were 
but thus adorned, after this truly Christian manner, 
impudence would soon receive a check, and lust, pride, 
vanity, and wantonness, find a rebuke. They would 
not be able to attempt such universal chastity, or en- 
counter such godly austerity : virtue would be in cre- 
dit, and vice afraid and ashamed, and excess not dare 
to show its face. There would be an end of gluttony, 
and gaudiness of apparel, flattering titles, and a luxu- 
rious life ; and then primitive innocency and plainness 
would come back again, and that plain-hearted, down- 
right, harmless life would be restored, of not much 
caring what we should eat, drink, or put on, as Christ 
tells us the Gentiles did, and as we know this age 
daily does, under all its talk of religion : but as the 
21* 



246 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



ancients, who with moderate care for necessaries and 
conveniences of life, devoted themselves to the con- 
cernments of a celestial kingdom, more minded their 
improvement in righteousness, than their increase in 
riches ; for they laid their treasure up in heaven, and 
endured tribulation for an inheritance that cannot be 
taken away. 

9. The temperance I plead for, is not only religious- 
ly, but politically good : it is the interest of good go- 
vernment to curb and rebuke excesses ; for it prevents 
many mischiefs. Luxury brings effeminacy, laziness, 
poverty, and misery ; but temperance preserves the 
land. It keeps out foreign vanities, and improves our 
own commodities : Now we are their debtors, then 
they would be debtors to us for our native manufac- 
tures. By this means, such persons, who by their ex- 
cess, not charity, have deeply engaged their estates, 
may in a short space be enabled to clear them from 
those incumbrances, which otherwise, like moths, soon 
eat out plentiful revenues. It helps persons of mean 
substance to improve their small stocks, that they may 
not expend their dear earnings and hard-got wages 
upon superfluous apparel, foolish May-games, plays, 
dancing, shows, taverns, ale-houses, and the like folly 
and intemperance ; with which this land is more in- 
fested, and by which it is rendered more ridiculous, 
than any kingdom in the world. None that I know 
of is so infested with cheating mountebanks, savage 
morrice dancers, pickpockets, and profane players, and 
stagers ; to the slight of religion, the shame of govern- 
ment, and the great idleness, expense, and debauchery 
of the people : for which the Spirit of the Lord is 
grieved, and the sentence ready to be pronounced, 



RO CROSS, NO CROWN. 247 

" Let him that is unjust, be unjust still." Wherefore 
it is, that we cannot but loudly call upon the people, 
and testify, both by our life and doctrine, against the 
like vanities and abuses, if possibly any maybe weaned 
from their folly, and choose the good old path of tem- 
perance, wisdom, gravity, and holiness, the only way 
to inherit the blessings of peace and plenty here, and 
eternal happiness hereafter. 

10. Lastly, supposing we had none of these fore- 
going reasons justly to reprove the practice of the land 
in these particulars ; let it be sufficient for us to say, 
that when people have first learned to fear, worship, 
and obey their Creator, to pay their numerous vicious 
debts, to alleviate and abate their oppressed tenants ; 
when the pale faces are more commiserated, the starved 
relieved, and naked clothed ; when the famished poor, 
the distressed widow, and helpless orphan (God's 
works, and your fellow-creatures) are provided for ! 
then, I say, it will be time enough for you to plead the 
indifferency of your pleasure. But that the sweat and 
tedious labour of the husbandmen, early and late, cold 
and hot, wet and dry, should be converted into the 
pleasure, ease, and pastime of a small number of men ; 
that the cart, the plough, the thresh, should be in con- 
tinual severity laid upon nineteen parts of the land to 
feed the inordinate lusts and delicious appetites of the 
twentieth, is so far from the appointment of the great 
Governor of the world, and God of the spirits of all 
flesh, that to imagine such horrible injustice as the 
effects of his determinations, and not the intemperance 
of men, were wretched and blasphemous. On the 
other side, it would be to deserve no pity, no help, 
no relief from God Almighty, for people to continue 



248 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

that expense in vanity and pleasure, whilst the great 
necessities of such objects go unanswered : especially, 
since God hath made the sons of men but stewards 
to each other's exigencies and relief. Yea, so strictly 
is it enjoined, that on the omission of these things, 
we find this dreadful sentence partly to be grounded, 
" Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," 
&c. On the contrary, to visit the sick, see the im- 
prisoned, relieve the needy, &c, are such excellent 
properties in Christ's account, that thereupon he will 
pronounce such blessed, saying, " Come ye blessed 
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you," 
&c. So that the great are not, with the leviathan in 
the deep, to prey upon the small, much less to make 
sport of the' lives and labours of the lesser ones, to 
gratify their inordinate senses. 

11. I therefore humbly offer an address to the seri- 
ous consideration of the civil magistrate, That if the 
money which is expended in every parish in such* vain 
fashions, as wearing of laces, jewels, embroideries, 
unnecessary ribbons, trimming, costly furniture and 
attendance, together with what is commonly consumed 
in taverns, feasts, gaming, &c, could be collected 
into a public stock, or something in lieu of this extra- 
vagant and fruitless expense, there might be repara- 
tion to the broken tenants, work-houses for the able, 
and almshouses for the aged and impotent. Then 
should we have no beggars in the land, the cry of the 
widow and orphan would cease, and charitable reliefs 
might easily be afforded towards the redemption of 
poor captives, and refreshment of such distressed Pro- 
testants as labour under the miseries of persecution in 
other countries : nay, the exchequer's needs, on just 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



249 



emergencies, might be supplied by such a bank. This 
sacrifice and service would please the just and merci- 
ful God; it would be a noble example of gravity and 
temperance to foreign states, and an unspeakable ben- 
efit to ourselves at home. 

Alas ! why should men need persuasion to what 
their own felicity so necessarily leads them to ? Had 
those vitiosos of the times but a sense of heathen Cato's 
generosity, they would rather deny their carnal appe- 
tites, than leave such noble enterprises unaitempted. 
But that they should eat, drink, play, game, and sport 
away their health, estates, and above all, their irrevo- 
cable precious time, which should be dedicated to the 
Lord, as a necessary introduction to a blessed eternity, 
and than which, did they but know it, no worldly 
solace could come in competition; I say, that they 
should be continually employed about these poor, low 
things, is to have the heathens judge them in God's 
day, as-well as Christian precepts and examples con- 
demn them. And their final doom will prove the more 
astonishing, in that this vanity and excess are acted 
under a profession of the self-denying religion of 
Jesus, whose life and doctrine are a perpetual reproach 
to the most of Christians. For he, blessed Man, was 
humble, but they proud ; he forgiving, they reveng- 
ful; he meek, they fierce ; he plain, they gaudy ; he 
abstemious, they luxurious ; he chaste, they lascivi- 
ous ; he a pilgrim on earth, they citizens of the world : 
in fine, he was meanly born, poorly attended, and ob- 
scurely brought up : he lived despised, and died hated 
of the men of his own nation. you pretended fol- 
lowers of this crucified Jesus ! examine yourselves, 
try yourselves ; know you not your own selves, if he 



250 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



dwell not, if he rule not, in you, that you are repro- 
bates ? be ye not deceived, for God will not be mock- 
ed, at last with forced repentances, such as you sow, 
such you must reap in God's day. I beseech you, 
hear me, and remember you were invited and entreat- 
ed to the salvation of God. As you sow, you reap : 
if you are enemies to the cross of Christ, and you are 
so, if you will not bear it, but do as you list, and not 
as you ought ; if you are uncircumcised in heart and 
ear, and you are so, if you will not hear and open to 
him that knocks at the door within, and if you resist 
and quench the spirit in yourselves, that strives with 
you to bring you to God, and that you certainly do, 
who rebel against its motions, reproofs, and instruc- 
tions, then " you sow to the flesh, to fulfil the lusts 
thereof, and of the flesh will you reap the fruits of cor- 
ruption, woe, anguish, and tribulation from God the 
judge of the quick and dead, by Jesus Christ." But 
if you will daily bear the holy cross of Christ, and sow 
to the Spirit ; if you will listen to the light and grace 
that comes by Jesus, and which he has given to all 
people for salvation, and square your thoughts, words, 
and deeds thereby, which leads and teaches the lovers 
of it to deny all ungodliness, and the world's lusts, 
and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this pre- 
sent evil world ; then may you, with confidence, look 
for the " blessed hope, and joyful coming, and glori- 
rious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ!" Let it be so, O you Christians, and 
escape the wrath to come ! why will you die ? let the 
time past suffice : remember, that No Cross, No 
Crown. Redeem then the time, for the days are evil, 
and yours but very few. Therefore gird up the loins 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



251 



of your minds, be sober, fear, watch, pray, and endure 
to the end : calling to mind, for your encouragement 
and consolation, that all such, as " through patience 
and well-doing wait for immortality, shall reap glory, 
honour, and eternal life, in the kingdom of the Father ; 
whose is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory 
forever." Amen. 



THE END OF PART ONE, 



NO CROSS, NO CEOWN. 



THE 

SECOND PART. 

CONTAINING 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIVING AND DYING SAYINGS OF MEN EMI- 
NENT FOR THEIR GREATNESS, LEARNING, OR VIRTUE, AND OF 
DIVERS PERIODS OF TIME AND NATIONS OF THE WORLD. ALL 
CONCURRING IN THIS ONE TESTIMONY, THAT A LIFE OF STRICT 
VIRTUE, VIZ. : TO DO WELL AND BEAR ILL, IS THE WAY TO 
EVERLASTING HAPPINESS. 

COLLECTED IN FAVOUR OF THE TRUTH DELIVERED IN THE FIRST PART. 

By WILLIAM PENN. 



PREFACE. 



No Cross, No Crown, should have ended here ; 
but that the power, which examples and authorities 
have upon the minds of people, above the most rea- 
sonable and pressing arguments, inclined me to present 
my readers with some of those many instances that 
might be given, in favour of the virtuous life recom- 
mended in our discourse. I chose to cast them into 
three sorts of testimonies, not after the threefold sub- 
ject of the book, but suitable to the times, qualities, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 253 

and circumstances of the persons that gave them forth : 
whose excellencies and stations have transmitted their 
names with reputation to our own times. The first 
testimony comes from those called heathens, the second 
from professed Christians, and the last from retired, 
aged, and dying men ; being their last and serious 
reflections, to which no ostentation, or worldly inte- 
rest could induce them. Where it will be easy for 
the considerate reader to observe how much the pride, 
avarice and luxury of the world, stood reprehended in 
the judgments of persons of great credit amongst 
men ; and what that life and conduct was, that in their 
most retired meditations, when their sight w^as clear- 
est, and judgment most free and disabused, they 
thought would give peace here, and lay a foundation 
for eternal blessedness. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE TESTIMONIES OF SEVERAL GREAT, LEARNED, AND 
VIRTUOUS PERSONAGES AMONG THE GENTILES, URGED 
AGAINST THE EXCESSES OF THE AGE, AND IN FAVOUR 
OF THE SELF-DENIAL, TEMPERANCE, AND PIETY HEREIN 
RECOMMENDED. 

I. Among the Greeks, viz. 1. Of Cyrus, 2. Artaxerxes. 3.' Age 
thocles. 4. Philip. 5. Alexander. 6. Ptolemy. 7. Xenophanes. 
8. Antigonus. 9. Themistocles. 10. Aristides. 11. Pericles. 12. 
Phocion. 13. Clitomachus. 14. Epaminondas. 15. Demosthenes.' 
16. Agasicles. 17. Age^ilaus. 18. Agis. 19. Alcamenes. 20. 
Alexandras. 21. Anaxilas. 22. Ariston. 23. Archidamus. 24. 
Cleomenes. 25. Dersyllidas. 26. Ilippodamus. 27. Leonidas. 28. 

22 



254 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



Lysandcr. 29. Pausanias. 30. Theopompus, &c. 31. The man- 
ner of life and government of the Lacedaemonians in general. 32. 
Lyeurgus, their lawgiver. II. Among the Romans, viz. 33. Of 
Cato, 34. Scipio Africanus. 35. Augustus. 36. Tiberius. 37. 
Vespasian. 38. Trajan. 39. Adrian. 40. Marcus Aurelius Anto- 
ninus. 41. Pertinax. 42. Pescennius. 43. Alexander Severus. 
44. Aurelianus. 45. Julian. 46. Theodosius. III. The lives and 
doctrines of some of the heathen philosophers among the Greeks and 
Romans, viz. 47. Thales. 48. Pythagoras. 49. Solon. 50. Chilon. 
51. Periander. 52. Bias. 53. Cleobulus. 54. Pittacus. 55. Hip- 
pias. 56. The Gymnosophists. 57. The Bomburacii. 58. The 
Gynsecosmi. 59. Anacharsis. 60. Anaxagoras. 61. Heraclitus. 
62. Democrilus. 63. Socrates. 64. Plato. 65. Antisthenes. 66. 
Xenocrates. 67. Bion. 68. Demonax. 69. Diogenes. 70. Crates. 
71. Aristotle. 72. Mandanis. 73. Zeno. 74. Quintilian. 75. Seneca. 
76. Epictetus. IV. Of virtuous heathen women, viz. 77. Penelope. 
78. Hipparchia. 79. Lucretia. 80. Cornelia. 81. Pontia. 82. 
Arria. 83. Pompeja Plautina. 84. Plotina. 85. Pompeja Paulina. 
86. A reproof to voluptuous women of the times. 

1. Cyrus, than whom a greater monarch we hardly 
find in story, is more famous for his virtue, than his 
power ; and indeed it was that which gave him power. 
God calls him his shepherd. Let us see the princi- 
ples of his conduct and life. So temperate was he in 
his youth, that when Astyages urged him to drink 
wine, he answered, I am afraid lest there should be 
poison in it ; having seen thee reel and sottish after 
having drunk thereof. So careful was he to keep the 
Persians from corruption of manners that he would not 
suffer them to leave their rude and mountainous coun- 
try, for one more pleasant and fruitful, lest, through 
plenty and ease, luxury at last might debase their 
spirits. So very chaste was he, that having taken a 
lady of quality, a most beautiful woman, his prisoner, 
he refused to see her, saying, I have no mind to be a 
captive to my captive. It seems he shunned even the 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



255 



occasion of evil. The comptroller of his household 
asking him one day, what he would please to have 
for his dinner ? Bread, said he ; for I intend to encamp 
nigh the water : a short and easy bill of fare. This 
shows the power he had over his appetite, as well as 
his soldiers ; and that he was fit to command others, 
who could command himself ; according to another 
saying of his, No man is worthy to command, who is 
not better than those who are to obey. When he 
came to die, he gave this reason of his belief of im- 
mortality. I cannot, said he, persuade myself to think 
that the soul of man, after having sustained itself in a 
mortal body, should perish when delivered out of it, 
for want of it : a saying of perhaps as great weight, as 
may be advanced against atheism from more enlight- 
ened times. 

2. Artaxerxes Mnemon, being, upon an extraor- 
dinary occasion, reduced to eat barley bread and dried 
figs, and drink water ; observed, What pleasure have 
I lost till now, through my delicacies and excess ! 

3. Agathocles, becoming king of Sicily, from being 
the son of a potter, in order to humble his mind to his 
original, would be daily served in earthen vessels upon 
his table ; an example of humility and plainness. 

4. Philip, king of Macedon, upon three sorts of 
good news arriving in one day, feared too much suc- 
cess might transport him immoderately ; and therefore 
prayed for some disappointments to season his pros- 
perity, and caution his mind under the enjoyment of 
it. He refused to oppress the Greeks with his garri- 
sons, saying, I had rather retain them by kindness, 
than fear ; and be always beloved, than to be for 
awhile terrible. One of his minions persuading him 



256 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



to decline hearing a cause, wherein a particular friend 
was interested ; I had much rather, says he, thy friend 
should lose his cause, than I my reputation. Seeincr 
his son Alexander endeavour to 2fain the hearts of the 
Macedonians by gifts and rewards, Canst thou believe, 
says he, that a man whom thou hast corrupted to thy 
interests will ever be true to them ? When his court 
would have had him quarrel and correct the Pelopo- 
nesians for their ingratitude to him, he said, By no 
means ; for if they despise and abuse me, after being 
kind to them, what will they do if I do them harm ? 
A great example of patience in a king, and wittily 
said. Like to this was his reply to the ambassadors 
of Athens, whom asking after audience, If he could 
do them any service, and one of them surlily answer- 
ing, The best thou canst do us is, to hang thyself; he 
was nothing disturbed, though his court murmured ; 
but calmly said to the ambassador, Those who suffer 
injuries, are better people than those that do them. 
Being one day fallen along the ground, and seeing 
himself in that posture, he cried out, What a small 
spot of earth do we take up ? and yet the whole world 
cannot content us. 

5. Alexander was very temperate and virtuous in 
his youth : a certain governor having written to him, 
that a merchant of the place had several fine boys to 
sell, he returned him this answer with great indigna- 
tion, What hast thou seen in any act of my life, that 
should put thee upon such a message as this ? He 
avoided the woman whom his courtiers flung in his 
way to debauch him. Nay, he would not see the wife 
of Darius, famed for the most beautiful princess of the 
age ; which, with his other virtues, made Darius, the 



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257 



last Persian king, to say, If God has determined to 
take my empire from me, I wish it into the hands of 
Alexander, my virtuous enemy. He hated covetous- 
ness ; for though he left great conquests, he left no 
riches : which made him answer one who asked him 
when he was dying, Where he had hid his treasures : 
Among my friends says he. He was wont to say, He 
owed more to his master for his education, than to his 
father for his birth ; by how much it was less to live, 
than to live well. 

6. Ptolemy, son of Lagos, being reproached for 
his mean original, his friends were angry that he did 
not resent it ; We ought, says he, to bear reproaches 
patiently. 

7. Xenophanes being jeered for refusing to play at 
a forbidden game, answered, I do not fear my money, 
but my reputation : they who make laws, must keep 
them. A commendable saying. 

8. Axtigonus being taken sick, observed, it was a 
warning from God to instruct him of his mortality. 
A poet flattering him with the title of the son of God ; 
he answered, My servant knows the contrary. Another 
sycophant telling him, that the will of kings is the rule 
of justice ; No, saith he, rather justice is the rule of 
the will of kings. And being pressed by his minions 
to put a garrison into Athens, to hold the Greeks in 
subjection, he answered, He had no stronger garrison 
than the affections of his people. 

9. Themistocles, after all the honour of his life, - 
sits down with this conclusion, That the way to the 
grave is more desirable than the way to worldly honours. 
His daughter being courted by one of little wit and great 
wealth, and another of little wealth and great good- 

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258 



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ness ; he chose the poor man for his son in law ; For, 
saith he, I will rather have a man without money, 
than money without a man : reckoning, that not 
money, but worth, makes the man. Being told by 
Symmachus, that he would teach him the art of memory ; 
he gravely answered, he had rather learn the art of 
forgetfulness ; adding, he could remember enough, 
but many things he could not forget, which were ne- 
cessary to be forgotten ; as the honours, glories, plea- 
sures and conquests he had spent his days in, too apt 
to transport to vain glory. 

10. Aristides, a wise and just Greek, of great 
honour and trust with the Athenians, was a great 
enemy to cabals in government : the reason he ren- 
ders is, because, I would not be obliged to authorize , 
injustice. He so much hated covetousness, though 
he was thrice chosen treasurer of Athens, that he 
lived and died poor, and that of choice : for being 
therefore reproached by a rich usurer, he answered, 
Thy riches hurt thee, more than my poverty hurts me. 
Being once banished by a contrary faction in the state, 
he prayed to God, That the affairs of his country might 
go so well, as never to need his return : which how- 
ever caused him presently to be recalled. Whereupon 
he told them, That he was not troubled for his exile, 
with respect to himself, but the honour of his country. 
Themistocles, their general, had a project to propose 
to render Athens, mistress of Greece, but it required 
secresy : the people obliged him to communicate it to 
Aristides, whose judgment they would follow. Aris- 
tides having privately heard it from Themistocles, 
publicly answered to the people, True, there was 
nothing more advantageous, nor nothing more unjust : 
which quashed the project. 



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259 



11. Pericles, as he mounted the tribunal, prayed 
to God, That not a word might fall from him that 
might scandalize the people, wrong the public affairs, 
or hurt his own. One of his friends praying him to 
speak falsely in his favour, We are friends, saith he, 
but not beyond the altar ; meaning not against reli- 
gion and truth. Sophocles, being his companion, 
upon sight of a beautiful woman, said to Pericles, Ah, 
what a lovely creature is that ! to whom Pericles re- 
plied, It becometh a magistrate not only to have his 
hands clean, but his tongue and eyes also. 

12. Phocion, a famous Athenian, was honest and 
poor, yea, he contemned riches ; for a certain governor 
making rich presents, he returned them ; saying, I 
refused Alexander's. And when several persuaded 
him to accept of such bounty, or else his children 
would want, he answered, If my son be virtuous, I 
shall leave him enough ; and if he be vicious, more 
would be too little. He rebuked the excess of the 
Athenians, and that openly, saying, He that eateth 
more than he ought, maketh more diseases than he 
can cure. To condemn or flatter him, was to him 
alike. Demosthenes telling him, Whenever the peo- 
ple were enraged, they would kill him ; he answered. 
And thee also, when they are come to their wits. He 
said an orator was like a cypress tree, fair and great, 
but fruitless. Antipater pressing him to submit to his 
sense, he answered, Thou canst not have me for a 
friend and flatterer too. Seeing a man in office speak 
much, and do little, he asked how can that man do 
business, who is already drunk with talking? After 
all the great services of his life, he was unjustly con- 
demned to die, and going to the place of execution, 



260 



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lamented of the people, one of his enemies spat in his 
face ; he took it without any disorder of mind, only 
saying, Take him away. Before execution, his friends 
asked him, whether he had nothing to say to his son ? 
Yes, said he, let him not hate my enemies, nor re- 
venge my death : I see it is better to sleep upon the 
earth with peace, than with trouble upon the softest 
bed : he ought to do that which is his duty, and what 
is more is vanity : that he must not carry two faces ; 
and promise little, but keep his promises : the world 
does the contrary. 

13. Clitomachus had so great a love to virtue, and 
practised it with such exactness, that if at any time in 
company he heard wanton or obscene discourse, he 
was wont to quit the place. 

14. Epaminondas being invited to a sacrificial feast, 
so soon as he had entered, withdrew, because of the 
sumptuous furniture and attire of the place and peo- 
ple ; saying, I was called at Leuctra to a sacrifice, but 
I find it is a debauch. The day after the great victo- 
ry he obtained over his enemies, he seemed sad and 
solitary, which was not his ordinary temper ; and be- 
ing asked why ? he answered, I would moderate the 
joy of yesterday's triumphs. A Thessalian general, 
and his colleague in a certain enterprise, knowing his 
poverty, sent him two thousand crowns to defray his 
part of the charges ; but he seemed angry, and an- 
swered, This looks like corrupting me ; contenting 
himself with less than five pounds, which he borrow- 
ed of one of his friends for that service. The same 
moderation made him refuse the presents of the Per- 
sian emperor, saying, They were needless, if he only 
desired of him what was just ; if more, he was not rich 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



261 



enough to corrupt him. Seeing a rich man refuse to 
lend one of his friends money who was in affliction ; 
he said, Art thou not ashamed to refuse to help a good 
man in necessity ? After he had freed Greece from 
trouble, and made the Thebans, his countrymen, tri- 
umph over the Lacedaemonians, till then invincible, 
that ungrateful people arraigned him and his friends, 
under pretence of acting something without authority. 
He, as general, took the blame upon himself, justified 
the action both from necessity and success, arraigning 
his judges for ingratitude, whilst himself was at the 
bar, which caused them to withdraw with failed coun- 
tenances, and hearts smitten with guilt and fear. He 
was a man of great truth and patience, as well as wis- 
dom and courage ; for he was never observed to lie, 
in earnest or in jest. Notwithstanding the ill and 
cross humours of the Thebans, aggravated by his in- 
comparable hazards and services for their freedom and 
renown, it is reported of him, that he ever bore them 
patiently ; often saying, He ought no more to be re- 
venged of his country, than of his father. And being 
wounded to death in the battle of Mantinea, he ad- 
vised his countrymen to make peace, none being fit 
to command : which proved true. This, for a Gen- 
tile and a general, hath matter of praise and example 
in it. 

15. Demosthenes, the great orator of Athens, had 
these sentences : Wise men speak little ; and therefore 
nature hath given men two ears and one tongue, to hear 
more than they speak. To one who spoke much he 
said, How cometh it, that he who taught thee to speak, 
did not teach thee to hold thy tongue ? He said of a 
covetous man, He knew not how to live all his life- 



262 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



time, and that he left it for another to live after he was 
dead. That it was an easy thing to deceive one's 
self, because it was easy to persuade one's self to 
what we desired. He said, That calumnies were 
easily received, but time would always discover them. 
That there was nothing more uneasy to good men 
than not to have the liberty of speaking freely : and 
that if we knew what we had to suffer from the peo- 
ple, we would never meddle to govern them. In fine, 
That man's happiness was to be like God ; and to re- 
semble him, we must love truth and justice. 

16. Agasicles, king of the Lacedaemonians, or 
Spartans, which are one, was of the opinion, That it 
was better to govern without force ; and says, the 
means to do it, is to govern the people as a father 
governs his children. 

17. Agesilaus, king of the same people, would 
say, That he had rather be master of himself, than of 
the greatest city of his enemies ; and preserve his own 
liberty, than to usurp the liberty of another man. A 
prince, says he, ought to distinguish himself from his 
subjects by his virtue, and not by his state or delicacy 
of life. He therefore, wore plain, simple clothing ; 
his table was as moderate, and his bed as hard, as 
that of any ordinary subject ; and when he was told, 
that one time or other he would be obliged to change 
his fashion ; No, saith he, I am not given to change ; 
and this I do, to remove from young men any pretence 
of luxury ; that they may see their prince practise 
what he counsels them to do. He added, That the 
foundation of the Lacedaemonian laws was, to despise 
luxury, and to reward with liberty: Nor, saith he, 
should good men put a value upon that which mean 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



263 



and "base souls make their delight. Being flattered by 
some with divine honour, he asked them, If they 
could not make gods too ? If they could, why did 
not they begin with themselves ? The same austere 
conduct of life made him refuse to have his statue 
erected in the cities of Asia ; nor would he suffer his 
picture to be taken, and his reason is good ; For, saith 
he, the fairest portraiture of men is their own actions. 
Whatever was to be suddenly done in the govern- 
ment, he was sure to set his hand first to the work, 
like a common person. He would say, It did not be- 
come men to make provision to be rich, but to be 
good. Being asked the means to true happiness, he 
answered, To do nothing that should make a man fear 
to die ; another time, To speak well, and do well. 
Being called home by the Ephori, or supreme magis- 
trates, under the Spartan constitution, he returned ; 
saying, It is not less the duty of a prince to obey laws, 
than to command men. He conferred places of trust 
and honour upon his enemies, that he might constrain 
their hatred into love. A lawyer asking him for a let- 
ter to make a person judge, who was one of his own 
friends ; My friends, says he, have no need of a re- 
commendation to do justice. — A comedian of note 
wondering that Agesilaus said nothing to him, asked, 
if he knew him ? Yes, saith he, I know thee ; art 
not thou the buffoon Callipedes ? — One calling the 
king of Persia, the great king, he answered, He is not 
greater than I, unless he hath more virtue that I. — 
One of his friends, catching him playing with his 
children, he prevented him thus; Say nothing, till 
thou art a father too. — He had great care of the educa- 
tion of youth ; often saying, We must teach children 



264 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



what they shall do when they are men. The Egyp- 
tians despising him because he had but a small train 
and a mean equipage ; Oh, saith he, I will have them 
to know, royalty consists not in vain pomp, but in vir- 
tue. 

18. Agis, another king of Lacedsemonia, imprison- 
ed for endeavouring to restore their declining disci- 
pline, being asked, whether he repented not of his 
design ? answered, No ; for, saith he, good actions 
never need repentance. His father and mother desir- 
ing him to grant something which he thought unjust, 
he answered, I obeyed you when I was young ; I must 
now obey the laws, and do that which is reasonable. 
— As he was leading to the place of execution, one 
of his people wept ; to whom he said, Weep not for 
me ; for the authors of this unjust death are more in 
fault than I. 

19. Alcamenes, king of the same people, being 
asked which was the way to get and preserve honour ? 
answered, To despise wealth. Another wondering 
why he refused the presents of the Messenians, he an- 
swered, I make conscience to keep the laws that for- 
bid it. To a miser, who accused him of being reserv- 
ed in his discourse, he said, I had rather conform 
to reason, than to thy covetousness ; or I had rather 
be covetous of my words, than money. 

20. Alexandridas hearing an exile complain of his 
banishment, observed, Complain of the cause, of it (to 
wit his deserts ;) for there is nothing hurtful but vice. 
Being asked, why they were so long in making the 
process of criminals in Lacedaemonia ? Because, saith 
he, when they are once dead, they are past repentance. 
This shows their belief of immortality and eternal 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



265 



blessedness ; and that even poor criminals, through 
repentance, may obtain it. 

21. Anaxilas would say, that the greatest advan- 
tage kings had over other men, was their power of 
excelling them in good deeds. 

22. Ariston, hearing one admire this expression, 
We ought to do good to our friends, and evil to our 
enemies ; answered, By no means ; we ought to do 
good to all ; to keep our friends, and to gain our ene- 
mies. A doctrine the most difficult to flesh and blood 
of all the precepts of Christ's sermon upon the mount : 
nay, not allowed to be his doctrine ; but both " An 
eye for an eye" defended, against his express com- 
mand, and oftentimes an eye put out, an estate seques- 
tered, and life taken away, under a specious zeal for 
religion too : as if sin could be christened, and impiety 
entitled to the doctrine of Christ. Oh, will not such 
heathens rise up in judgment against our worldly 
Christians in the great day of God ! 

23. Archidamus, also king of Sparta, being asked 
who was master of Lacedsemonia ? The laws, saith he, 
and after them the magistrates. — One praising a musi- 
cian in his presence, Ah ! saith he, but when will you 
praise a good man ? — Another saying, That man is an 
excellent musician : That is all one, saith he, as if 
thou wouldst say, There is a good cook: counting 
both, trades of voluptuousness. — Another promising 
him some excellent wine ; I care not, saith he, for it 
will only put my mouth out of taste to my ordinary 
liquor ; which it seems was water. — Two men chose 
him an arbitrator ; to accept it, he made them promise 
to do what he would have them : Then said he, stir 
not from this place till you have agreed the matter 

23 



266 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



between yourselves ; which w T as done. — Dennis, king 
of Sicily, sending his daughters rich apparel, he for- 
bade them to wear it, saying, You will seem to me 
but the more homely. — -This great man certainly was 
not of the mind to bring up his children at the ex- 
changes, dancing-schools, and play-houses. 

24. Cleomenes, king of the same people, would 
say, That kings ought to be pleasant; but not to cheap- 
ness and contempt. He was so just a man in power, 
that he drove away Demaratus, his fellow-king, for 
they always had two, for offering to corrupt him in a 
cause before them ; Lest, saith he, he should attempt 
others less able to resist him, and so ruin the state. 

25. Dersyllidas perceiving that Pyrrhus would 
force a prince upon his countrymen, the Lacedaemo- 
nians, whom they lately ejected, stoutly opposed him, 
saying, If thou art God, we fear thee not, because we 
have done no evil ; and if thou art but a man, we are 
men too. 

26. Hippodamus, seeing a young man ashamed, who 
was caught in bad company, reproved him sharply, 
saying, For time to come keep such company as thou 
needest not blush at. 

27. Leonidas, brother to Cleomenes, and a brave 
man, being offered by Xerxes to be made an emperor 
of Greece, answered, I had rather die for my own 
country, than have an unjust command over other 
men's. Adding, Xerxes deceived himself, to think it 
a virtue to invade the right of other men. 

28. Lysander, being asked by a person, what was 
the best frame of government ? That, saith he, where 
every man hath according to his deserts. Though one 
of the greatest captains that Sparta bred, he had learn- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



267 



ed by his wisdom to bear personal affronts. Say what 
thou wilt, saith he to one who spoke abusively to him ; 
empty thyself, I shall bear it. His daughters were 
contracted in marriage to persons of quality : but he 
dying poor, they refused to marry them : upon which 
the Ephori condemned each of them in a great sum 
of money, because they preferred money before faith 
and engagement. 

29. Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus, and colleague 
of Lysander, beholding among the Persian spoils they 
took, the costliness of their furniture, said, It had 
been much better if they had been worth less, and 
their masters more. After the victory of Platea, having 
a dinner drest according to the Persian manner, and 
beholding the magnificence and furniture of the treat ; 
What, saith he, do these people mean, who live in 
such wealth and luxury, to attack our meanness and 
poverty ? 

30. Theopompus saith, The way to preserve a king- 
dom is, to embrace the counsel of one's friends, and 
not to suffer the meaner sort to be oppressed. One 
making the glory of Sparta to consist in commanding 
well, he answered, No, it is in knowing how to obey 
well. He was of opinion, that great honours hurt a 
state ; adding, That time would abolish great and aug- 
ment moderate honours among men ; meaning that 
men should have the reputation they deserve, without 
flattery and excess. 

A rhetorician bragging himself of his art, was re- 
proved by a Lacedaemonian, Dost thou call that an 
art, saith he, which hath not truth for its object? Also 
a Lacedaemonian being presented with an harp after 
dinner by a musical person, I do not, saith he, know 



268 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



how to play the fool. Another being asked, What he 
thought of a poet of the times, answered, Good for 
nothing but to corrupt youth. Nor was this only the 
wisdom and virtue of some particular persons, which 
may be thought to have given light to the dark body 
of their courts ; but their government was wise and 
just, and the people generally obeyed it ; making vir- 
tue to be true honour, and that honour dearer to them 
than life. 

31. Lacedaemonian customs, according to Plutarch, 
were these : " They were very temperate in their eat- 
ing and drinking, their most delicate dish being a 
pottage made for the nourishment of ancient people. 
They taught their children to write and read, to obey 
the magistrates, to endure labour, and to be bold in 
danger : the teachers of other sciences were not so 
much as admitted in Lacedaemonia. They had but 
one garment, and that new but once a year. They 
rarely used baths or oil, the customs of those parts of 
the world. Their youth lay in troops upon mats ; the 
boys and girls apart. They accustomed their youth to 
travel by night without light, to use them not to be 
afraid. The old governed the young; and those of 
them who obeyed not the aged, were punished. It 
was a shame not to bear reproof among the youth ; 
and among the aged, matter of punishment not to give 
it. They made ordinary cheer, on purpose to keep 
out luxury; holding that mean fare kept the spirit 
free, and the body fit for action. The music they used 
was simple, without art or changings ; their songs 
composed of virtuous deeds of good men, and their 
harmony mixed with some religious extasies, that 
seemed to carry their minds above the fear of death. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



269 



They permitted not their youth to travel, lest they 
should corrupt their manners ; and for the same reason, 
they permitted not strangers to dwell amongst them, 
who conformed not to their way of living. In this 
they were so strict, that such of their youth as were 
not educated in their customs, enjoyed not the privi- 
leges of natives. They would suffer neither comedies 
nor tragedies to be acted in their country. They con- 
demned a soldier for painting his buckler of several 
colours ; and publicly punished a young man, for hav- 
ing learnt the way to a town given to luxury. They 
also banished an orator for bragging that he could 
speak a whole day upon any subject ; for they did not 
like much speaking, much less for a bad cause. They 
buried their dead without any ceremony or superstition, 
for they only used a red cloth upon the body, broidered 
with olive leaves : this burial had all degrees. Mourn- 
ing they forbade, and epitaphs too. When they prayed 
to God, they stretched forth their arms ; which, with 
them, was a sign that they must do good works, as 
well as make good prayers. They asked of God but 
two things, patience in labour, and happiness in well- 
doing." 

This account is mostly the same with Xenophon's : 
he adds, " that they eat moderately, and in common ; 
the youth mixed with the aged, to awe them, and give 
them a good example. In walking, they would neither 
speak, nor turn their eyes aside, any more than if they 
were statues of marble. The men were bred bashful, 
as well as the women, not speaking at meals, unless 
they were asked a question. When they were fifteen 
years of age, instead of leaving them to their own 
conduct, as in other places, they had most care of their 
23* 



270 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



conversation, that they might preserve them from the 
mischiefs .that age is incident to. Those who would 
not comply with these rules, were not counted always 
honest people. In this their government was excel- 
lent ; That they thought there was no greater punish- 
ment for a bad man, than to be known and used as 
such, at all times, and in all places ; for they were not 
to come into the company of persons of reputation ; 
they were to give place to all others ; to stand when 
others sat ; to be accountable to every honest man who 
met them, for their conversation ; that they must keep 
their poor kindred ; that they used not the same free- 
doms that honest people might use : by which means 
they kept virtue in credit, and vice in contempt. They 
used all things necessary for life, without superfluity 
or want ; despising riches, and sumptuous apparel and 
living : judging, that the best ornament of the body 
is health; and of the mind, virtue. And since (saith 
Xenophon) it is virtue and temperance that render us 
commendable, and that it is only the Lacedeemonians 
who reverence it publicly, and have made it the foun- 
dation of their state ; their government, of right, merits 
preference to any other in the world. But that which 
is strange, is, that all admire it, but none imitate it." 
Nor is this account and judgment fantastical. 

32. Lycurgus, their famous founder and lawgiver, 
instilled these principles, and by his power with them, 
made them laws to rule them. Let us hear what he 
did : Lycurgus, willing to reclaim his citizens from a 
luxurious to a virtuous life, and show them how much 
good conduct and honest industry might meliorate the 
state of mankind, applied himself to introduce a new 
model of government, persuading them to believe, that 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



271 



though they were descended of noble and virtuous 
ancestors, if they were not exercised irf a course of 
virtue, they would, like the dog in the kitchen, rather 
leap at the meat, than run at the game. In fine, they 
agreed to obey him. He retrenched their laws of 
building, suffering no more ornament than could be 
made with a hatchet and a saw : and their furniture 
was like their houses. This course disbanded many 
trades ; no merchant, no cook, no lawyer, no flatterer, 
no divine, no astrologer, was to be found in Lacedse- 
monia. Injustice was banished from their society, 
having cut up the root of it, which is avarice, by in- 
troducing a community, and making gold and silver 
useless. To prevent the luxury of tables as well as 
of apparel, he ordained public places of eating, where 
all should be publicly served ; those who refused to 
come thither were reputed voluptuous, and reproved, 
if not corrected. He would have virgins labour, as 
well as young men, that their bodies being used to 
exercise might be the stronger and healthier. He 
forbade that they should have any portions, to the end 
that none might make suit to them for their wealth, 
but for their worth ; by which means the poor went 
off as well as the rich : and that their virtue might 
prefer them, they were denied to use any ornaments. 
Chastity was so general, and so much in request, that 
no law was made against adultery ; believing, that 
where luxury and the arts leading to it, were so 
severely forbidden, it was needless. He forbade 
costly offerings in the temple, that they might offer 
often ; for that God regardeth the heart, not the offer- 
ing. These, and some more, were the laws he insti- 
tuted ; and whilst the Spartans kept them, it is certain 



272 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



they were the first state of Greece, which lasted about 
five hundred years. It is remarkable that he would 
never suffer the laws to be written, to avoid barratry, 
and that the judges might not be tied religiously to 
the letter of the law, but left to the circumstances of 
fact ; from which no inconvenience was observed to 
follow. 

II. The Romans also yield us instances to our point 
in hand. 

33. Cato, that sage Roman, seeing a luxurious man 
laden with flesh, Of what service, saith he, can that 
man be, either to himself, or to the commonwealth ? 
One day beholding the statues of several persons 
erecting whom he thought little worthy of remem- 
brance, that he might despise the pride of it ; said he, 
I had rather they should ask, why they set not up a 
statue to Cato, than why they do. He was a man of 
severity of life, both in example and as a judge. His 
competitors in the government, hoping to be preferred, 
took the contrary humour and flattered the people : 
this good man despised their arts, and with an unusual 
fervency cried out, That the distempers of the com- 
monwealth did not require flatterers to deceive them, 
but physicians to cure them : which struck so great 
an awe upon the people, that he was first chosen of 
them all. The fine dames of Rome became governors 
to their husbands ; he lamented the change, saying, It 
is strange that those who command the world should 
yet be subject to women. He thought those judges, 
who would not impartially punish malefactors, greater 
criminals than the malefactors themselves : a good les- 
son for judges of the world. He would say, That it 
was better to lose a gift than a correction ; for, says he, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



273 



the one corrupts, but the other instructs us. That we 
ought not to separate honour from virtue ; for then 
there would be few virtuous. No man is fit to com- 
mand another, who cannot command himself. Great 
men should be temperate in their power, that they 
may keep it. For men to be too long in office in a 
government, is to have too little regard to others, or 
the dignity of the state. They who do nothing will 
learn to do evil. Those who have raised themselves 
by their vices should gain to themselves credit by vir- 
tue. He repented that ever he passed one day with- 
out doing good. That there is no witness any man 
ought to fear, but that of his own conscience. Nor 
did his practice fall much short of his principles. 

34. Scipio Africanus, though a great general, load- 
ed with honours and triumphs, preferred retirement to 
them all : being used to say, That he was never less 
alone than when he was alone : implying, that the 
most busy men in the world are the most destitute of 
themselves ; and that external solitariness gives the 
best company within. After he had taken Carthage, 
his soldiers brought him a most beautiful prisoner ; he 
answered, "I am your general;" refusing to debase 
himself, or dishonour her. 

35. Augustus, eating at the table of one of his 
friends, where a poor slave breaking a crystal vessel 
fell upon his knees, begging him that his master might 
not fling him to the lampreys for food, as he had used 
to do with such of them as offended him ; Augustus, 
hating his friend's cruelty, broke all his crystal ves- 
sels, reproving both his luxury and his severity'. He 
never recommended any of his own children, but he 
always added, If they deserve it. He reproved his 



274 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



daughter for her excess in apparel, and both rebuked 
and imprisoned her for her immodest latitudes. The 
people of Rome complaining that wine was dear, he 
sent them to the fountains, telling them, They were 
cheap. 

36. Tiberius would not suffer himself to be called 
Lord, nor yet His Sacred Majesty : For, says he, they 
are divine titles, and belong not to man. The com- 
missioners of his treasury advising him to increase his 
taxes upon the people, he answered, No, it is fit to 
shear, but not to flay the sheep. 

37. Vespasian was a great and an extraordinary 
man who maintained something of the Roman virtue 
in his time. One day, seeing a young man finely 
dressed, and richly perfumed, he was displeased with 
him, saying, I had rather smell the poor man's garlic, 
than thy perfume ; and took his place and government 
from him. A certain person being brought before 
him, who had conspired against him, he reproved 
him and said, That it was God who gave and took 
away empires. Another time, conferring favour upon 
his enemy, and being asked why he did so ? he an- 
swered, That he should remember the right way. 

38. Trajan would say, That it became an emperor 
to act towards his people, as he would have his peo- 
ple act towards him. The governor of Rome having 
delivered the sword into his hand, and created him 
emperor, Here, saith he, take it again : if I reign well, 
use it for me : if ill, use it against me. An expression 
which shows great humility and goodness, making- 
power subservient to virtue. 

39. Adrian, also emperor, had several sayings 
worthy of notice : one was, That a good prince did 



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275 



not think the estates of his subjects belonged to him. 
Another, That kings should not always act the king : 
that is, should be just, and mix sweetness with great- 
ness, and be conversable by good men. That the 
treasures of princes are like the spleen, that never 
swells but it makes other parts shrink ; teaching princes 
thereby to spare their subjects. Meeting one who 
was his enemy before he was emperor, he cried out 
to him, Now thou hast no more to fear ; intimating 
that having power to revenge himself, he would rather 
use it to do him good. 

40. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a good man (the 
Christians of his time felt it) commended his son for 
weeping at his tutor's death ; answering those who 
would have rendered it unsuitable to his condition, 
Let him alone, says he, it is fit he should show him- 
self a man, before he be a prince. He refused to 
divorce his wife, at the instigation of his courtiers, 
though reputed naught ; answering, I must divorce 
the empire too ; for she brought it. He did nothing 
in the government without consulting his friends ; and 
would say, It is more just that one should follow the 
advice of many, than that many the mind of one. He 
was more philosopher than emperor ; for his dominions 
were greater within than without : and having com- 
manded his own passions, by a circumspect conformity 
to virtuous principles, he was fit to rule those of other 
men. Some of his excellent sayings, are as follows : 
Of my grandfather Verus, I learned to be gentle and 
meek, and to refrain from anger and passion. From 
the fame and memory of him that begot me, shame- 
facedness and manlike behaviour. I observed his 
meekness, his "constancy without wavering, in those 



276 



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things, which, after a due examination and delibera- 
tion he had determined ; how free from all vanity he 
carried himself in matters of honour and dignity ; his 
laboriousness and assiduity ; his readiness to hear any 
man who had ought to say tending to any common 
good • how he abstained from all unchaste love of 
youth ; his moderate condescending to other men's 
occasions, as an ordinary man. Of my mother, I 
learned to be religious and bountiful, and to forbear, 
not only to do, but to intend any evil : to content my- 
self with a spare diet, and to fly all such excess as is 
incident to great wealth. Of my grandfather, both to 
frequent public schools and auditories, and to get me 
good and able teachers at home ; and that I ought not 
think much, if upon such occasions I were at exces- 
sive charge. I gave over the study of rhetoric and 
poetry, and of elegant, neat language. I did not use 
to walk about the house in my senator's robe, nor to 
do any such things. I learned to write letters without 
any affectation and curiosity ; and to be easy and ready 
to be reconciled, and well pleased again with them 
that had offended me, as soon as any of them would 
be content to seek unto me again. To observe care- 
fully the several dispositions of my friends, and not 
unreasonably to set upon those who are carried away 
with the vulgar opinions, with the theorems and tenets 
Of philosophers. To love the truth and justice, and 
to be kind and loving to all them of my house and 
family, I learned from my brother Severus : and it 
was he who put me in the first conceit and desire of 
an equal commonwealth, administered by justice and 
equality ; and of a kingdom, wherein should be re- 
regarded nothing more than the good and welfare, or 
liberty, of the subjects. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



277 



As for God, and such suggestions, helps and inspi- 
rations, as might be expected, nothing did hinder but 
that I might have begun long before to live according 
to nature. Or that even now I was not a partaker, 
and in present possession of that life, 1 myself (in that 
I did not observe those inward motions and sugges- 
tions ; yea, and almost plain and apparent instructions 
and admonitions of God) was the only cause of it. I 
who understand the nature of that which is good and 
to be desired ; and of that which is bad, that it is 
odious and shameful ; who know, moreover, that this 
transgressor, whosoever he be, is my kinsman, not by 
the same blood and seed, but by participation of the 
same reason, and of the same divine particle or 
principle : how can I either be hurt by any of these, 
since it is not in their power to make me incur any 
thing that is reproachful, or be angry and ill-affected 
towards him, who, by nature, is so near to me ? for we 
are all born to be fellow-workers, as the feet, the 
hands, and the eye-lids ; as the rows of upper and 
under teeth: for such therefore to be in opposition, is 
against nature. 

He saith it is high time for thee to understand the 
true nature, both of the world, whereof thou art a 
part, and of that Lord and Governor of the world, 
from whom, as a channel from the spring, thou thyself 
didst flow. And that there is but a certain limit of 
time appointed unto thee, which if thou shalt not make 
use of, to calm and allay the many distempers of thy 
soul, it will pass away, and thou with it, and never 
after return. Abuse, and contemn thyself yet awhile, 
and the time for thee to repent thyself will be at an 
end ! Every man's happiness depends upon him- 
24 



278 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

self; but behold, thy life is almost at an end, whilst 
not regarding thyself as thou oughtest, thou dost make 
thy happiness to consist in the souls and conceits of 
other men. Thou must also take heed of another 
kind of wandering ; for they are idle in their actions 
who toil and labour in their life, and have no certain 
scope to which to direct all their motions and desires. 
As for life and death, honour and dishonour, labour 
and pleasure, riches and poverty, all these things 
happen unto men indeed, both good and bad equally, 
but as things which of themselves are neither good nor 
bad, because of themselves neither shameful nor 
praiseworthy. Consider the nature of all worldly 
visible things ; of those especially, which either en- 
snare by pleasure, or for their irksomeness are dread- 
ful, or for their outward lustre and show, are in great 
esteem and request ; how vile and contemptible, how 
base and corruptible, how destitute of all true life and 
being they are. There is nothing more wretched than 
that soul, which, in a kind of circuit, compasseth all 
things ; searching even the very depths of all the 
earth, and, by all signs and conjectures, prying into 
the very thoughts of other men's souls ; and yet of 
this is not sensible, that it is sufficient for a man to 
apply himself wholly, and confine all his thoughts and 
cares to the guidance of that spirit which is within 
him, and truly and really serve him. For even the 
least things ought not to be done without relation 
unto the end : and the end of the reasonable creature 
is, To follow and obey him who is the reason, as it 
were, and the law, of this great city and most ancient 
commonwealth. Philosophy doth consist in this ; 
For a man to preserve that spirit which is within him 



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279 



from all manner of contumelies and injuries, and above 
all pains and pleasures ; never to do any thing either 
rashly or feignedly, or hypocritically. He that is such, 
is surely indeed a very priest and minister of God ; 
well acquainted, and in good correspondence with 
Him especially, who is seated and placed within him- 
self : to whom also he keeps and preserveth himself, 
neither spotted by pleasure, nor daunted by pain ; free 
from any manner of wrong or contumely. Let thy 
God that is in thee, to rule over thee, find by thee 
that he hath to do with a man, who hath ordered his 
life as one that expecteth nothing but the sound of 
the trumpet sounding a retreat to depart out of this 
life with all readiness. Never esteem anything as 
profitable, which shall ever constrain thee, either to 
break thy faith, or to hose thy modesty : to hate any 
man, to suspect, to curse, to dissemble, to lust after 
anything that requireth the secret of walls or veils. 
But he that preferreth, before all things, his rational 
part and spirit, and the virtues which issue from it, 
shall never want either solitude or company ; and 
which is chiefest of all, he shall live without either 
desire or fear. If thou shalt intend that which is 
present, following the rule of right and reason, care- 
fully, solidly, meekly : and shalt not intermix any 
other business ; but shalt study this, to. preserve thy 
spirit unpolluted and pure ; and as one that were even 
now ready to give up the ghost, shall cleave unto 
him, without either hope or fear of anything, in all 
things that thou shalt either do or speak ; contenting 
thyself with truth, thou shalt live happily ; and from 
this there is no man can hinder thee. Without rela- 
tion to God, thou shalt never perform aright anything 



280 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



human ; nor on the other side, anything divine. At 
what time soever thou wilt, it is in thy power to retire 
into thyself, and be at rest ; for a man cannot retire 
any whither to be more at rest, and freer from all busi- 
ness, than into his own soul. Afford then thyself this 
retiring continually, and thereby refresh and renew 
thyself: Death hangeth over thee; whilst yet thou 
livest, and whilst thou mayest be good. How much 
time and leisure doth he gain, who is not curious to 
know what his neighbour hath said, or hath done, or 
hath attempted, but only what he doth himself, that it 
may be just and holy. Neither must he use himself to 
cut off actions only, but thoughts and imaginations 
also that are not necessary ; for so will unnecessary 
consequent actions be better prevented and cut off. 
He is poor, that stands in need of another, and hath 
not in himself all things needful for his life. Consider 
well, whether magnanimity, and true liberty and true 
simplicity, and equanimity and holiness, be not most 
reasonable and natural. Honour that which is chief- 
est and most powerful in the world, and that is it 
which makes use of all things, and governs all things ; 
so also in thyself, honour that which is chiefest and 
most powerful, and is of one kind and nature with 
that ; for it is the very same, which being in thee, 
turneth all other things to its own use, and by whom 
also thy life is governed.— What is it that thou dost 
stay for ? An extinction or a translation, or either of 
them, with a propitious and contented mind. But till 
that time come, what will content thee ? What else, 
but to worship and praise God, and to do good unto 
men? As he lay dying, his friends being about him, 
he spake thus: "Think more of death than of me, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 281 

and that you and all men must die as well as I 
adding, " I recommend my son, to you, and to God, 
if he be worthy." 

41. Pertinax, also emperor, being advised to save 
himself from the fury of the mutineers, answered, No, 
what have I done that I should do so ? showing, that 
innocence is bold, and should never give ground, 
where it can show itself, be heard, and have fair play. 

42. Pescennius seeing the corruption that reigned 
among officers of justice, advised, That judges should 
have salaries, that they might do their duty without 
any bribes or perquisites. He said, he would not 
offend the living that he might be praised when he 
was dead. 

43. Alexander Severus, having tasted both of a 
private life, and the state of an emperor, has this cen- 
sure : Emperors, says he, are ill managers of the pub- 
lic revenue, to feed so many unuseful mouths. Where- 
fore he retrenched his family from pompous to ser- 
viceable things. He would not employ persons of 
quality in his domestic service, thinking it too mean 
for them, and too costly for him : adding, That per- 
sonal service, was the work of the lowest order of the 
people. He would never suffer offices of justice to be 
sold : For, saith he, it is not strange that men should 
sell what they buy ; meaning justice. He was impar- 
tial in correction : My friends, says he, are dear to 
me, but the commonwealth is dearer. Yet he would 
say, That sweetening power to the people made it 
lasting. That we ought to gain our enemies, as we 
keep our friends, that is, by kindness. He said, That 
we ought to desire happiness, and to bear afflictions : 
that those things which are desirable may be pleasant, 

24 * 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

but the troubles we avoid may have most profit in the 
end. He did not like pomp in religion ; for it is not 
gold that recommends the sacrifice, but the piety of 
him that offers it. An house being in contest between 
some Christians and keepers of taverns, the one to 
perform religion, the other to sell drink therein, he 
decided the matter thus: That it were much better it 
were any way employed to worship God, than to make 
a tavern of it. By this we may see the wisdom and 
virtue that shone among heathens. 

44. Aurelianus, the emperor, having threatened a 
certain town which rebelled against him, That he 
would not leave a dog alive therein ; and finding the 
fear he raised brought them easily to their duty, bid 
his soldiers go kill all their dogs, and pardoned the 
people. 

45. Julian, coming to the empire, drove from his 
palace troops of cooks, barbers, &c. His reason was 
this, That loving simple, plain meat, he needed no 
cooks : and he said one barber would serve a great 
many. ^ A good example for the luxurious Christians 
of our times. 

46. Theodosius the younger was so merciful in his 
nature, that instead of putting people to death, he 
wished it were in his power to call the dead to life 
again. 

These were the sentiments of the ancient grandees 
of the world, to wit, emperors, kings, princes, cap- 
tains, statesmen, &c. not unworthy of the thoughts of 
persons of the same figure and quality now in being : 
and for that end they are here collected, that such may 
with more ease and brevity behold the true statues of 
the ancients, not lost or lessened by the decays of 
time. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



233 



III. I will now proceed to report the virtuous doc- 
trines and sayings of men of more retirement ; such 
as philosophers and writers, of both Greeks and 
Romans, who in their respective times were masters 
in the civility, knowledge and virtue that were among 
the Gentiles, being most of them many ages before the 
coming of Christ. 

47. Thales, an ancient Greek philosopher, being 
asked by a person who had committed adultery, if he 
might swear ? answered, by no means ; for perjury is 
not less sinful than adultery ; and so thou wouldst 
commit two sins to cover one. Being asked, what 
was the best condition of a government ? he answer- 
ed, That the people be neither rich nor poor ; for he 
placed external happiness in moderation. He w T ould 
say, That the hardest thing in the world was, to know 
a man's self: but the best, to avoid those things 
which we reprove in others ; an excellent and close 
saying. That we ought to choose well, and then to 
hold fast. That the felicity of the body consists in 
health, and health in temperance ; and the felicity of 
the soul in wisdom. He thought that God was with- 
out beginning or end : that he was the searcher of 
hearts : that he saw thoughts as well as actions. 
Being asked of one, if he could sin, and hide it from 
God? he answered, No, how can I, when he that 
thinks evil, cannot? 

48. Pythagoras, a famous and virtuous philosopher 
of Italy, being asked, when men might take the plea- 
sure of their passions ? answered, When they have a 
mind to be worse. He said, The world was like a 
comedy, and the true philosophers the spectators. 
That he who taketh too much care of his body, makes 



I 



«OM NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

the prison of his soul more insufferable. That luxury 
led to debauchery, and debauchery to violence, and 
this to bitter repentance. That those who reprove us 
are our best friends. That men ought to preserve 
their bodies from diseases by temperance ; their souls 
from ignorance by meditation ; their will from vice, 
by self-denial ; and their country from civil war, by 
justice. That it is better to be loved than feared. 
That virtue makes bold ; but there is nothing so fear- 
ful as an evil conscience. That men should believe 
of a divinity, that it is, and that it overlooks them, 
and neglecteth them not ; there is no being nor place 
without God. He told the senators of Crotonia (being 
two thousand) praying his advice, That they received 
their country as a depositum or trust from the people ; 
wherefore they should manage it accordingly, since 
they were to resign their account, with their trust, to 
their own children. That the way to do it, was to be 
equal to all the citizens, and to excel them in nothing 
more than justice. That every one of them should so 
govern his family, that he might refer himself to his 
own house, as to a court of judicature, taking great 
care to preserve natural affection. That they be ex- 
amples of temperance in their own families, and to 
the city. That in courts of judicature none attest God 
by an oath, but use themselves so to speak, as they 
may be believed without an oath. That the discourse 
of that philosopher is vain, by which no passion of 
man is healed : for, as there is no benefit of medicine, 
if it expel not diseases out of bodies ; so neither of 
philosophy, if it expel not evil out of the soul. Of 
God, an heavenly life and state, he saith thus, They 
mutually exhorted one another, that they should not 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



285 



tear asunder " God which is in them." Their study 
and friendship, by words and actions, had reference 
to some divine temperament ; and to union with God. 
That all which they determine to be done aims and 
tends to the acknowledgment of the Deity. This is 
the principle ; and the whole life of man consists in 
this, " That he follow God;" and this is the ground 
of philosophy. He saith, 

Hope all things; for to none belongs despair : 
All things to God easy and perfect are. 

Pythagoras desired of God to keep us from evil, and 
to show every one the good spirit he ought to use. 
The rational man is more noble than other creatures, 
as more divine ; not content solely with one operation, 
as all other things drawn along by nature, which al- 
ways acts after the same manner, but endued with 
various gifts, which he useth according to his free will : 
in respect of which liberty, 

.Men are of heavenly race, 

Taught by Diviner Nature what to embrace. 

The Pythagoreans had this distitch, among those 
commonly called the Golden Verses : 

Rid of this body, if the heavens free 

You reach, henceforth immortal you shall be. 

Or thus : 

Who after death, arrive at the heavenly plain, 
Are straight like Gods, and never die again. 

49. Solon, esteemed one of the seven sages of 
Greece, a noble philosopher, and a law-giver to the 
Athenians, was so humble, that he refused to be prince 
of that people, and voluntarily banished himself, when 
Pisistratus usurped the government there : resolving 



286 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



never to outlive the laws and freedom of his country.* 
He would say, That to make a government last, the 
magistrates must obey the laws, and the people the 
magistrates. It was his judgment, that riches brought 
luxury, and luxury brought tyranny. Being asked by 
Croesus, king of Lydia, when seated in his throne, 
richly clothed, and magnificently attended, if he had 
ever seen anything more glorious? He answered, 
cocks, peacocks, and pheasants ; by how much their 
beauty is natural. These undervaluing expressions of 
wise Solon, meeting so pat upon the pride and luxury 
of Croesus, they parted : the one desirous of toys and 
vanities; the other an example and instructor of true 
nobility and virtue, that contemned the king's effemi- 
nacy. Another time Croesus asking him, who was the 
happiest man in the world ? expecting he should have 
said, Croesus, because he was the most famous for 
wealth in those parts; he answered, Tellus ; who, 
though poor, yet was an honest and good man, and 
contented with what he had : after he had served the 
commonwealth faithfully, and seen his children and 
grandchildren virtuously educated, he died for his 
country in a good old age, and was carried by his 
children to his grave, f This much displeased Croesus, 
but he dissembled it. Whilst Solon thus recommended 
the happiness of Tellus, Croesus demanded to whom 
he assigned the next place, (making no question but 
himself should be named); Cleobis, saith he, and 
Bito; brethren that loved well, had a competency, 
were of great health and strength, most tender and 
obedient to their mother, religious of life ; who, after 



* Plutarch. Herod. 



f Plutarch. Laert. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 287 

sacrificing in the temple, fell asleep, and waked no 
more. Hereat, Croesus growing angry, Strange ! saith 
he ; doth our happiness seem so despicable, that thou 
wilt not rank us equal with private persons ? Solon 
answered, Dost thou inquire of us about human affairs ? 
knowest thou not, that Divine Providence is severe, 
and^ often full of alteration? Do not we, in process 
of time, see many things we would not ? Aye, and 
suffer many things we would not ? Count man's life 
at seventy years, which makes* twenty-six thousand 
two hundred and fifty and odd days, there is scarcely 
one day like another ; so that every one, O Crcesus, is 
attended with crosses. Thou appearest to me very 
rich, and king over many people ; but the question 
thou askest, I cannot resolve, till I hear thou hast 
ended thy days happily ; for he that hath much wealth 
is not happier than he that gets his bread from day to 
day ; unless Providence continue those good things, 
and he dieth well. In everything, O king, we must 
have regard to the end ; for man, to whom God dis- 
pensed worldly good things, he at last utterly deserts. 
Solon, after his discourse, not flattering Croesus, was 
dismissed, and accounted unwise, that he neglected 
the present good, out of regard to the future. °Msop, 
who wrote the Fables, being then at Sardis, sent for 
thither by Croesus, and much in favour with him, was 
grieved to see Solon so unthankfully dismissed ; and 
said to him, Solon, we must either tell kings nothing 
at all, or what may please them : No, saith Solon, 
either nothing at all, or what is best for them. How- 
ever, it was not long ere Croesus was of another mind ; 



* According to the Athenian account. 



288 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



for, being taken prisoner by Cyrus, the founder of the 
Persian monarchy, and by his command fettered and 
put on a pile of wood to be burned, Crcesus sighed 
deeply, and cried, O Solon, Solon! Cyrus bid the 
interpreter ask, on whom he called ? He was silent ; 
but at last, pressing him, answered, Upon him, whom 
I desire, above all wealth, to have spoken with all 
tyrants. This not understood, upon farther importunity 
he told them, Solon, an Athenian ; who long since, 
says he, came to me, and seeing my wealth, despised 
it ; besides, what he told me is come to pass : nor did 
his counsel belong to me alone, but to all mankind, 
especially those that think themselves happy. Whilst 
CrcESus said thus, the fire began to kindle, and the 
out-parts to be seized by the flame : Cyrus, informed 
by the interpreters w T hat Croesus said, began to be 
troubled ; and knowing himself to be a man, and that 
to use another, not inferior to himself in wealth, so 
severely, might one day be retaliated, instantly com- 
manded the fire to be quenched, and Crcesus and his 
friends to be brought off; whom, ever after, as long 
as he lived, Cyrus had in great esteem.* Thus Solon 
gained the praise of two kings ; his advice saved one, 
and instructed the other. 

As it was in Solon's time that tragical plays were 
first invented, so was he most severe against them ; 
foreseeing the inconveniences that followed, upon the 
people's being affected with that novelty of pleasure. 
It is reported of him, that he went himself to the play, 
and after it was ended, he went to Thespis, the great 
actor, and asked him, If he were not ashamed to tell 



* Herodot. Halicar. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



289 



so many lies in the face of so great an auditory? 
Thespis answered, as it is now usual, There is no harm 
nor shame to act such things in jest. Solon, striking 
his staff hard upon the ground, replied, But in a short 
time, we who approve of this kind of jest shall use it 
in earnest in our common affairs and contracts. In 
fine, he absolutely forbade him to teach or act plays ; 
conceiving them deceitful and unprofitable ; diverting 
youth and tradesmen from more necessary and virtuous 
employment. He denned those happy, who are com- 
petently furnished with their outward callings, live 
temperately and honestly. He would say, That cities 
are the common-sewer of wickedness. He affirmed 
that to be the best family, which got not unjustly, kept 
not unfaithfully, spent not with repentance. " Observe 
(saith he) honesty in thy conversation, more strictly 
than an oath." Seal words with silence ; silence with 
opportunity. Never lie, but speak the truth. Fly 
pleasure, for it brings sorrow. Advise not the people 
what is most pleasant, but what is best. Make not 
friends in haste, nor hastily part with them. Learn to 
obey, and thou wilt know how to command. Be arro- 
gant to none; be mild to those that are about thee. 
Converse not with wicked persons. Meditate on seri- 
ous things. Reverence thy parents. Cherish thy friend. 
Conform to reason ; and in all things take counsel of 
God. In fine, his two short sentences were these, Of 
nothing, too much ; and Know thyself.* 

50. Chilon, another of the wise men of Greece, 
would say, That it was the perfection of a man to 
foresee and prevent mischiefs. That herein good 

* Stob. Sent. 3, Clem. Alex. Strom, I. 
25 



290 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



people differ from bad ones, their hopes were firm 
and assured. That God was the great touch-stone, or 
rule of mankind. That men's tongues ought not to 
outrun their judgment. That we ought not to flatter 
great men, lest we exalt them above their merit and 
station ; nor to speak hardly of the helpless. They 
that would govern a state well, must govern their 
families. He would say, That a man ought so to be- 
have himself, that he fall neither into hatred nor dis- 
grace. That commonwealth is happiest, where the 
people mind the law more than the lawyers. Men 
should not forget the favours they receive, nor remem- 
ber those they do. Three things he said were diffi- 
cult, yet necessary to be observed, to keep secrets, 
forgive injuries, and use time well. Speak not ill, 
says he, of thy neighbour. Go slowly to the feasts 
of thy friends, but swiftly to their troubles. Speak 
well of the dead. Shun busy-bodies. Prefer loss 
before covetous gain. Despise not the miserable. If 
powerful, behave thyself mildly, that thou mayest be 
loved, rather than feared. Order thy house well : 
bridle thy anger : grasp not at much : make not haste, 
neither dote upon anything below. A prince must 
not take up his time about transitory and mortal things ; 
eternal and immortal are fittest for him. To conclude : 
he was so just in all his actions, that Laertius tells us, 
he professed in his old age, that he had never done 
anything contrary to the conscience of an upright 
man ; only, that of one thing he was doubtful, having 
given sentence against his friend according to law, he 
advised his friend to appeal from him ; so to preserve 
both his friend and the law. Thus true and tender 
was conscience in heathen Chilon. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



291 



51. Periander, a prince and philosopher too, would 
say, That pleasures are mortal, but virtues immortal. 
In success, be moderate ; in disappointments, patient 
and prudent. Be alike to thy friends, in prosperity 
and in adversity. Peace is good ; rashness dangerous ; 
gain sordid. Betray not secrets. Punish the guilty. 
Restrain men from sin. They who would rule safely 
must be guarded by love, not arms. To conclude, 
saith he, live worthy of praise, so wilt thou die 
blessed.* 

52. Bias, one of the Seven Wise Men, being in a 
storm with wicked men, who cried mightily to God ; 
Hold your tongues, saith he, it were better he knew 
not you were here ;f a saying that hath great doctrine 
in it : the devotion of the wicked doth them no good : 
it answers to that passage in Scripture, " The prayers 
of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord. "J An 
ungodly man asking him, What godliness was ? he 
w T as silent ; but the other murmuring, saith he, What 
is that to thee ? that is not thy concern. He was so 
tender in his nature, that he seldom judged any crim- 
inal to death, but he wept ; adding, One part goeth to 
God, and the other part I must give the law. That 
man is unhappy, saith he, who cannot bear affliction. 
It is a disease of the mind, to desire that which can- 
not, or is not fit to be had. It is an ill thing not to be 
mindful of other men's miseries. To one who asked, 
What is hard ? he answered, To bear cheerfully a 
change for the worse. Those, says he, who busy 
themselves in vain knowledge, resemble owls that see 
by night and are blind by day ; for they are sharp- 

* Baart. Suid. Protag. Stob. 28. 

t Laert. Stob. t Prov. xv. 8. 



292 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



sighted in vanity, but dark at the approach of true light 
and knowledge. He adds, Undertake deliberately; 
but then go through. Speak not hastily, lest thou sin. 
Be neither silly nor subtle. Hear much ; speak little, 
and seasonable. Make profession of God every- 
where ; and impute the good thou dost, not to thyself, 
but to the power of God. His country being invaded, 
and the people flying with the best of their goods, 
asked, Why he carried none of his ? I, saith he, carry 
my goods within me. Valerius Maximus adds, in 
his breast ; not to be seen by the eye, but to be 
prized by the soul ; not to be demolished by mortal 
hands ; present with them that stay, and not forsaking 
those that fly. 

53. Cleobulus, a prince and philosopher of Lyn- 
dus, said, That it was a man's duty to be always em- 
ployed upon something that was good. Again, Be 
never vain nor ungrateful. Bestow your daughters 
virgins in years, but matrons in discretion. Do good 
to thy friend, to keep him, to thy enemy, to gain him. 
When any man goeth forth, let him consider what he 
hath to do ; when he returneth, examine what he hath 
done. Know, that to reverence thy father is thy duty. 
Hear willingly, but trust not hastily. Obtain by per- 
suasion, not by violence. Being rich, be not exalted ; 
poor, be not dejected. Forego enmity : instruct thy 
children :. pray to God, and persevere in godliness.* 

54. Pittacus being asked, What is best? he an- 
swered, To do the present thing well. He would say, 
What thou dost take ill in thy neighbour, do not thy- 
self. Reproach not the unhappy ; for the hand of 
God is upon them. Be true to thy trust. Bear with 

* Laert. Plut. Sympos. Sap. Sep. Stob, Ster. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



293 



thy neighbour ; love thy neighbour. Reproach not thy 
friend, though he recede from thee a little. That com- 
monwealth is best ordered, where the wicked have 
no command, and that family, which hath neither or- 
nament nor necessity. He advised to acquire honest- 
ly ; love discipline.; observe temperance ; gain pru- 
dence ; mind diligence ; and keep truth, faith, and 
piety. He had a brother, who dying without issue 
left him his estate ; so that when Croesus offered him 
wealth, he answered, I have more by half than I de- 
sire. He also affirmed That family the best, who got 
not unjustly, kept not unfaithfully, spent not with re- 
pentance : and, that happiness consists in a virtuous 
and honest life, in being content with a competency 
of outward things, and in using them temperately. 
He earnestly enjoined all to flee corporal pleasure ; for, 
says he, it certainly brings sorrow : but to observe an 
honest life more strictly than an oath ; and meditate 
on serious things.* 

55. Hippias, a philosopher : it is recorded of him, 
that he would have every one provide his own neces- 
saries ; and, that he might do what he taught, he was 
his own tradesman. He was singular in all such arts 
and employments, insomuch that he made the very 
buskins he wore.f A better life than Alexander's, 

56. The Gymnosophistse, were a sect of philosophers 
in Egypt, that so despised gaudy apparel, and the rest 
of the world's intemperance, that they went almost 
naked ; living poorly, and with great meanness : by 
which they were enabled against all cold, and over- 
came that lust by innocence^ which people who 



* Plutarch. Stob. 28. 



f Cic. lib. de Oral, 



294 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

are called Christians, though covered, are Overcome 
withal.* 

57. The Bambycatti were a people that inhabited 
about the river Tigris, in Asia ; who observing the 
great influence gold, silver, and precious jewels had 
upon their minds, agreed to bury all in the earth, to 
prevent the corruption of their manners. They used 
inferior metals, and lived with very ordinary accom- 
modation ; wearing mostly but one grave and plain 
robe to cover nakedness. It were well, if Christians 
would mortify their unsatiable appetites after wealth 
and vanity any way, for heathens judge their ex- 
cess.! 

58. The Athenians had two distinct numbers of 
men, called the Gynsecosmi and Gynseconomi. These 
were appointed by the magistrates to overlook the 
actions of the people : the first was to see that they 
apparelled aud behaved themselves gravely ; especi- 
ally that women were of modest behaviour : and the 
other was to be present at their treats and festivals, to 
see that there was no excess, nor disorderly carriage ; 
and in case any were found criminal, they had full 
power to punish them.J When, alas ! when shall this 
care and wisdom be seen among the Christians of 
these times, that so intemperance might be prevented ? 
But it is too evident they love the power and the pro- 
fits, but despise the virtue of government, making it 
an end, instead of a means to that happy end, viz. : 
The well-ordering the manners and conversation of 
the people, and equally distributing rewards and pun- 
ishments. 

59. Anacharsis, a Scythian, was a great philoso- 
* Plin. 7. 2. Cic. Tusc. Quest. 5. f Plin. t Vid. Suid. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 295 

pher ; Croesus offered him large sums of money, but 
he refused them. Hanno did the like ; to whom he 
answered, My apparel is a Scythian rug ; my shoes, 
the hardness of my feet ; my bed, the earth ; my 
sauce, hunger : you may come to me as one who is 
contented ; but those gifts which you so much esteem 
bestow either on your citizens, or in sacrifice to the 
immortal Gods.* 

60. Anaxagoras, a nobleman, but true philosopher, 
left his great patrimony to seek out wisdom : and be- 
ing reproved by his friends for the little care he had 
of his estate, answered, It is enough that you care for 
it. One asked him, Why he had no more love for his 
country than to leave it ? Wrong me not, saith he, 
my greatest care is my country, pointing his finger 
towards heaven. Returning home, and taking a view 
of his great possessions, If I had not disregarded 
them, saith he, I had perished. He asserted the doc- 
trine of one eternal God, denying divinity to sun 
moon and stars ; saying, God was infinite, not confined 
to place ; the eternal wisdom and efficient cause of all 
things ; the divine mind and understanding ; who, 
when matter was confused, came and reduced it to 
order, which is the world we see.f He suffered 
much from some magistrates for his opinion ; yet 
dying, was admired by them : his epitaph in English, 
thus : 

Here lies, who through the truest paths did pass 
To the world celestial, Anaxagoras. 

61. Heraclitus was incited by king Darius, for his 

* Cic. Tus. Quest. 5. Clem. Alex. Strob. 

t Plutarch contra Usur. Lysand. Cic. Tus. Quest. 5. 



296 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



great virtue and learning, to this effect; Come, as 
soon as thou canst, to my presence and royal palace. 
The Greeks, for the most part, are not obsequious to 
wise men, but despise the good things which they de- 
liver. With me thou shalt have the first place, and 
daily honours and titles : thy way of living shall be as 
noble as thy instructions. But Heraclitus refusing his 
offer, returned this answer : 

Heraclitus to Darius the king, health. Most men 
refrain from justice and truth, and pursue insatiable- 
ness and vain glory, by reason of their folly ; but I, 
having forgot all evil, and shunning the society of in- 
bred envy and pride, will never come to the kingdom 
of Persia, being contented with a little according to 
my own mind. 

He also slighted the Athenians. He had clear 
apprehensions of the nature and power of God, main- 
taining his divinity against the idolatry in fashion. 
This definition he gives of God ; He is not made with 
hands. The whole world, adorned with his creatures, 
is his mansion. Where is God ? Shut up in temples ? 
Impious men ! who place their God in the dark. It 
is a reproach to a man, to tell him he is a stone ; yet 
the God you profess is born of a rock. You ignorant 
people ! you know not God ; his works bear witness 
of him. 

Of himself he saith, O ye men, will ye not learn 
why I never laugh ? it is not that I hate men, but 
their wickedness. If you would not have me weep, 
live in peace : you carry swords in your tongues ; you 
plunder wealth, ravish women, poison friends, betray 
the trust the people repose in you : shall I laugh, when 
I see men do these things ? their garments, beards and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



297 



heads, adorned with unnecessary care ; a mother de- 
serted by a wicked son ; or young men consuming 
their patrimony ? a citizen's wife taken from him ; a 
virgin ravished ; a concubine kept as a wife : others 
filling their bellies at feasts, more with poison than 
with dainties ? Virtue would strike me blind, if I 
should laugh at your wars. By music, pipes, and 
stripes, you are excited to things contrary to all har- 
mony. Iron, a metal more proper for ploughs and 
tillages, is fitted for slaughter and death ; men raising 
armies of men, covet to kill one another ; and punish 
them that quit the field for not staying to murder men. 
They honour, as valiants, such as are drunk with 
blood. But lions, horses, eagles, and other creatures, 
use not swords, bucklers, and instruments of war : 
their limbs are their weapons, some their horns, some 
their bills, some their wings. To one is given swift- 
ness ; to another bigness ; to a third swimming. No 
irrational creature useth a sword, but keeps itself 
within the laws of its creation ; except ?nan, that doth 
not so ; which brings the heavier blame, because he 
hath the greatest understanding. You must leave 
your wars and your wickedness, which you ratify by 
law, if you would have me leave my severity. I have 
overcome pleasure, I have overcome riches, I have 
overcome ambition, I have mastered flattery : fear 
hath nothing to object against me, drunkenness hath 
nothing to charge upon me, anger is afraid of me : I 
have won the garland, in fighting against these ene- 
mies. 

This, and much more, did he write in his epistles 
to Harmodorus, of his complaints against the great 
degeneracy of the Ephesians. And in an epistle to 



298 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



Aphidamus, he writes, I am fallen sick, Aphidamus, 
of a dropsy. Whatsoever is of us, if it get the domi- 
nion, it becomes a disease. Excess of heat is a fever ; 
excess of cold, a palsy : excess of wind, the cholic ; 
my disease cometh from excess of moisture. The soul 
is something divine, which keeps all these in a due 
proportion. I know the nature of the world ; I know 
that of man ; I know diseases ; I know health ; I will 
cure myself, I will imitate. God, who makes equal the 
inequalities of the world. But if my body be over- 
pressed, it must descend to the place ordained ; how- 
ever, my soul shall not descend ; but being a thing 
immortal, shall ascend on high, where an heavenly 
mansion shall receive me. 

A most weighty and pathetical discourse ; they that 
know anything of God, may savour something divine 
in it. Oh ! that the degenerate Christians of these 
times would but take a view of the virtue, temperance, 
zeal, piety, and faith of this heathen, who, notwith- 
standing he lived five hundred years before the coming 
of Christ in the flesh, had these excellent sentences ! 
Yet again : he taught that God punish eth not by taking 
away riches, he rather alloweth them to the wicked, 
to discover them ; for poverty may be a veil. Speak- 
ing of God, he says, How can that light which never 
sets be hidden or obscured ? Justice shall seize one 
day upon defrauders and witnesses of false things. 
Unless a man hopes to the end, for that which is to be 
hoped for, he shall not find that which is unsearcha- 
ble ; which Clemens, an ancient father, applied to Isa. 
vi. " Unless you believe, you shall not understand." 
Heraclitus derided the sacrifice of creatures ; Do you 
think, saith he, to pacify God and cleanse yourselves, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



299 



by polluting yourselves with blood ? as if a man should 
go into the dirt to cleanse himself. Which showed a 
sight of a more spiritual worship than that of the sacri- 
fices of beasts. He lived solitary in the mountains ; 
had a sight of his end : and as he was prepared for it, 
so he rejoiced in it. These certainly were the men, 
" who having not a law without them, became a law 
unto themselves, showing forth the work of the law 
written in their hearts :" and who, for that reason, 
shall judge the circumcision, and receive the reward 
of " Well done," by him who is Judge of quick and 
dead. 

62. Democritus would say, That he had lived to 
an extraordinary age, by keeping himself from luxury 
and excess. That a little estate went a great way 
with men who were neither covetous nor prodigal. 
That luxury furnished great tables with variety ; and 
temperance furnished little ones. That riches do not 
consist in the possession, but right use, of wealth. He 
was a man of great retirement, avoiding public honours 
and employments ; bewailed by the people of Abdera 
as mad, whilst indeed he only smiled at the madness 
of the world. 

63. Socrates was the most religious and learned 
philosopher of his time, of whom it is reported Apollo 
gave this character, That he was the wisest man on 
earth, was a man of severe life, and instructed people 
gratis in just, grave and virtuous manners. Being 
envied by Aristophanes, the vain, comical wit of that 
age, as one spoiling the trade of plays, and exercising 
the generality of the people with more noble and 
virtuous things ; he was represented by him in a 
play, in which he rendered Socrates so ridiculous, that 



300 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



the vulgar would rather part with Socrates in earnest, 
than Socrates in jest ; which made way for their im- 
peaching him, as an enemy to their gods, for which 
they put him to death. But in a short space, his 
eighty judges, and the whole people, so deeply resent- 
ed the loss, that they slew many of his accusers : some 
hanged themselves ; none would trade with them, nor 
answer them a question. They erected several statues 
to his praise ; forbade his name to be mentioned, that 
they might forget their injustice ; and called home his 
banished friends and scholars. And, by the most wise 
and learned men of that age, it is observed, that 
famous city was punished with the most dreadful 
plague that ever raged amongst them ; and all Greece, 
with it, never prospered in any considerable undertak- 
ing; but from that time always decayed.* Amongst 
many of his sober and religious maxims, upon which 
he was accustomed to discourse with his disciples, 
these are some : 

He taught everywhere, That an upright man, and 
an happy man, are all one. They that do good, are 
employed ; they that spend their time in recreations, 
are idle. To do good is the best course of life ; he 
only is idle, who might be better employed. An 
horse is not known by his furniture, but qualities ; so 
men are to be esteemed for virtue, not wealth. Being 
asked, Who lived without trouble ? he answered, 
Those who are conscious to themselves of no evil 
thing. To one who demanded, What was nobility ? 
he answered, A good temper and disposition of soul 
and body. They who know what they ought to do, 

* Plat. Apolog. Diog. Laert. He] vie. Cie. Tus. Quest. 1. Xenoph. 
Brut. Cic. Orat. Liban. Apol. Varro Hist. Schol. Arist. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 301 

and do it not, are not wise and temperate, but fools 
and stupid. To one who complained that he had not 
been benefitted by his travels ; Not without reason, 
says Socrates, thou didst travel with thyself: intimat- 
ing he knew not the mind of God to direct and inform 
him. Being demanded, what wisdom was ? he an- 
swered, A virtuous composure of the soul. And 
being asked, Who were wise ? replied, Those that sin 
not. Seeing a young man rich, but ignorant of hea- 
venly things, and pursuing earthly pleasures ; Behold, 
says he, a golden slave. Soft ways of living beget not 
a good constitution of body or mind. Fine and rich 
clothes are only for comedians. Being asked, from 
what things men and women ought to refrain ? he 
answered, Pleasures. Continence and temperance, 
he said, were government of corporal desires and 
pleasures. The wicked live to eat, &c. but the good 
eat to live. Temperate persons become the most 
excellent : eat that which neither hurts the body nor 
mind, and which is easy to be gotten. One saying, It 
was a great matter to abstain from what one desires ; 
But, says he, it is better not to desire at all. This is 
deep religion, even very hard to professed Christians. 
" It is the property of God, to need nothing, and they 
who need and are contented with least, come nearest 
to God. The only and best way to worship God is, 
to mind and obey whatsoever he commands. That 
the souls of men and women partake of the Divine 
Nature. God is seen of the virtuous minds, and by 
waiting upon him, they are united unto him, in an 
•inaccessible place of purity and happiness. Which 
God, he asserted, always to be near him."* 
* Crom. Alex. Strom. 2. 417. Xen. Mem. 3. p. 720. Xen. p. 778, 



302 



NO CROSS, XO CROWN. 



Many more are the excellent sayings of this oreat 
man, who was not less famous for his sayings, than his 
example, with the greatest nations; yet died he a 
sacrifice to the sottish fury of the vain world. The 
history of his life reports, that his father was told, He 
should have the Guide of his life within him, that 
should be more to him than five hundred masters ; 
which proved true. He instructed his scholars herein, 
charging them not to neglect these divine affairs, 
which chiefly concern man, to mind or inquire after 
such things as are without in the visible world. He 
taught the use of outward things only as they were 
necessary to life and commerce ; forbidding superflui- 
ties and curiosities.* He was martyred for his doctrine, 
after haying lived seventy years the most admired, 
followed, and visited, of all men in his time, by kings 
and commonwealths ; and than whom, antiquity men- 
tions none with more reverence and honour. Well 
were it for poor England, if her conceited Christians 
were true Socrates's, whose strict, just and self-denying 
life, doth not bespeak him more famous, than it will 
Christians infamous at the revelation of the righteous 
judgment ; where heathen virtue shall aggravate Chris- 
tian intemperance ; and their humility, the others ex- 
cessive pride : and justly, too, since a greater than 
Socrates is come, whose name they profess, but will 
not obey his law.f 

64. Plato, that famous philosopher and scholar to 

779,780. Ech. Strom. 1. 11. Stob. 4. 6. Stob. 2. 18. Xenoph. Mem. 
3. Senec. Epist. 1. 103. Stub. 28. Stob. 32. Xen. Mem. J. .Elian. 9. 
Stob. 37. Stob. 87. Xen. Mem. 3, 4. .Elian. Var. Hist. 9 Stob. 37. 
Xenoph. Mem. 4, 802, Plat. Phsed. 

* Xen. Mem. 1. p. 710. f Xen, Mem. 4. Plato de Legib. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN; 



303 



Socrates, was so grave and devoted to divine things, 
nay, so discreetly politic, that in his commonwealth 
he would not so much as harbour poetical fancies, 
much less open stages, as being too effeminate, and 
apt to withdraw the minds of youth from more noble, 
more manly, as well as more heavenly exercises.* 
Plato, seeing a young man play at dice, reproved him 
sharply; the other answered, What! for so small a 
matter ? Custom, saith Plato, is no small thing : let 
idle hours be spent more usefully. Let youth take 
delight in good things ; for pleasures are the baits of 
evil. Observe ; the momentary sweetness of a deli- 
cious life is followed with eternal sorrow ; the short 
pain of the contrary with eternal pleasure.! Being 
commanded to put on a purple garment by the king 
of Sicily, he refused, saying, He was a man, and 
scorned such effeminacies. Inviting Timothy, the 
Athenian general, to supper, he treated him with herbs, 
water, and such spare diet as he was accustomed to 
eat. Timothy's friends next day, laughing, asked, 
how he was entertained ? he answered, Never better 
in his life ; for he slept all night after his supper : 
thereby commending his temperance. He addicted 
himself to religious contemplations ; and is said to 
have lived a virtuous and single life, always eyeing 
and obeying the Mind, which he sometimes . called 
God, the Father of all things ; affirming, Who lived 
so, should become like him, and so be related to, and 
joined with, the Divinity itself.J This same Plato, 
upon his dying-bed, sent for his friends about him, 
and told them, The whole world was out of the way, 

* Plato de Rep. t Diog. Laert. in vit. Xen. Crat. Stob. ^Elian. 
t Alcinous. 



304 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

in that they understood not, nor regarded the Mind, 
that is, God, or the Word, or Begotten of God, assur- 
ing them, Those men died most comfortably, who 
lived most conformable to right reason, and sought 
and adored the First Cause, meaning God. 

65. Antisthenes, an Athenian philosopher, had 
taught in the study of eloquence several years ; but 
upon hearing Socrates treat of the seriousness of reli- 
gion, of the divine life, eternal rewards, &c, "bade 
all his scholars seek a new master ; for he had found 
one for himself." Wherefore selling his estate, he 
distributed it to the poor, and betook himself wholly 
to the consideration of heavenly things ; going cheer- 
fully six miles every day, to hear Socrates.*— Where 
are the like preachers and converts amongst the people 
called Christians ? Observe the daily pains of Soc- 
rates ; surely he did not study a week to read a written 
sermon : we are assured of the contrary ; for it was 
frequent with him to preach to the people at any time 
of the day, in the very streets, as occasion served, and 
as he was moved. Neither was he an hireling, or 
covetous ; for he did it gratis : surely then he had not 
set benefices, tithes, glebes, &c. And let the self- 
denial and diligence of Antisthenes be considered, 
who, of a philosopher and master, became a scholar, 
and that a daily one : it was then matter of reproach, 
as it is now ; showing thereby both want of know- 
ledge, though called a philosopher, and his great de- 
sire to obtain it of one who could teach him. None 
of these used to go to plays, balls, treats, &c. They 
found more serious employment for their minds, and 



* Laert. vit. Socr. .Elian. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



305 



were examples of temperance to the world. I will 
repeat some grave sentences, as reported by Laertius 
and others, namely, That those are only noble who 
are virtuous. That virtue was self-sufficient to hap- 
piness ; that it consisteth in actions, not requiring 
many words, nor much learning, and is self-sufficient 
to wisdom : for that all other things have reference 
thereunto. That men should not govern by force, nor 
bylaws, unless good, but by justice. To a friend, 
complaining he had lost his notes, Thou shouldest 
have written them upon thy mind, saith he, and not 
in a book. Those who would never die, must live 
justly and piously. Being asked, What learning was 
best ? That, saith he, which unlearneth evil. To one 
that praised a life full of pleasures and delicacies ; Let 
the sons of my enemies, saith he, live delicately : 
counting it the greatest misery. We ought, says he, 
to aim at such pleasures as follow honest labour ; and 
not those which go before it.* When at any time he 
saw a woman richly dressed, he would, in a way of 
reproach, bid her husband bring out his horse and 
arms : meaning, if he were prepared to justify the in- 
juries such wantonness useth to produce, he might the 
better allow those dangerous freedoms : otherwise, 
saith he, pluck off her rich and gaudy attire. He is 
said to have exclaimed bitterly against pleasures ; often 
saying, I had rather be mad, than addicted to pleasure, 
and spend my days in decking and feeding my car- 
cass. Those, says he, who have once learned the way 
to temperance and virtue, let them not offer to entangle 
themselves again with fruitless stories, and vain learn^ 



* Stob. ibid. 117. Diog. Laert, 
26* 



OUD NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

ing ; nor be addicted to corporal delicacies, which dull 
the mind, and will divert and hinder from the pursuit 
of more noble and heavenly virtues.* Upon the death 
of his beloved master, Socrates, he instituted a sect 
called Cynics; out of whom came the sect of the 
Stoics: both which had these common principles, 
which they daily, with unwearied diligence, maintain- 
ed and instructed people in the knowledge of, viz., 
No man is wise or happy, but the good and virtuous 
man. That not much learning, nor study of many 
things, was necessary. That a wise man is never 
drunk nor mad : that he never sinneth ; that a wise 
man is void of passion ; that he is sincere, religious, 
grave : that he only is divine. That such only are 
priests and prophets, who have God in themselves. 
And that his law is imprinted in their minds, and the 
minds of all men. That such an one only can pray, 
who is innocent, meek, temperate, ingenuous, noble ; 
a good magistrate, father, son, master, servant, and 
worthy of praise. On the contrary, that wicked men 
can be none of these. f 

Their diet was slender, their food only what would 
satisfy nature. Their garments exceedingly mean. 
Their habitations solitary and homely. They affirmed, 
those who lived with fewest things, and were con- 
tented, most nearly approached God, who wants no- 
thing. They voluntarily despised riches, glory, and 
nobility, as foolish shows and vain fictions, that had 
no true and solid worth or happiness in them. They 

* Agel. lib. 9, c. 5. 

+ Laert. vir. mem. Laert. Plut. de rep. Sloi. Stob. Cic. de Na». 
Deo. lib. ii. Lcct. de Ira Dei. cap. 10. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 307 

made all things to be good and evil, and flatly denied 
the idle stories of fortune and chance.* 

Certainly these were they, who having no external 
law, " became a law unto themselves ;" and did not 
abuse the knowledge they had of the invisible God ; 
but according to their capacities, instructed men in the 
knowledge of that righteous, serious, solid, and hea- 
venly principle, which leads to true and everlasting 
happiness all those that embrace it. 

66. Xenocrates refused Alexander's present, and 
treated his ambassadors after his temperate and spare 
manner; saying, You see I have no need of your 
master's bounty, who am so well pleased with this. 
He would say, That one ought not to carry one's eyes 
or one's hands into another man's house ; that is, be 
a busy-body. That a man ought to be most circum- 
spect of his actions before children, lest by example 
his faults should outlive himself. He said, Pride was 
the greatest obstruction to true knowledge. His chas- 
tity and integrity were remarkable, and reverenced in 
Athens : Phryne, the famous Athenian courtezan, could 
not place a temptation upon him ; nor Philip, king of 
Macedon, a bribe ; though the rest sent on the em- 
bassy were corrupted. Being once brought for a wit- 
ness, the judges rose up and cried out, Tender no 
oath to Xenocrates, for he will speak the truth ! A 
respect they did not allow to one another. Holding 
his peace at some detracting discourse, they asked 
him, why he spoke not ? Because, saith he, I have 
sometimes repented of speaking, but never of holding 
my peace. f 

* Plut. PI, Ph. 16. Cic. Tusc. Quest. 4. Diog. Laert. vit. Mem. Stob. 
t Laert. Val. Max. 4. 3. 2. 16. Cic. pro Val. Max. 7. 2. 



ouo NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

67. Bion would say, That great men walk in slip- 
pery places. That it is a great mischief not to bear 
affliction. That ungodliness is an enemy to assurance. 
He said to a covetous man, That he did not possess 
his wealth, but his wealth possessed him ; abstaining 
from using it, as if it were another man's. In fine, 
That men ought to pursue a course of virtue, without 
regard to the praise or reproach of men. 

68. Demonax, seing the great care that men had of 
their bodies, more than of their minds ; They deck 
the house, saith he, but slight the master. He would 
say, That many are inquisitive about the make of the 
world, but are little concerned about their own, which 
were a science much more worthy of their pains. To 
a city that would establish the gladiators, or prize- 
fighters, he said, That they ought first to overthrow 
the altar of mercy: intimating the cruelty of such 
practices. One asking him, why he turned philoso- 
pher ? Because, saith he, I am a man. He would say 
of the priests of Greece, If they could better instruct 
the people, they could not give them too much ; but 
if not, the people could not give them too little. He 
lamented the unprofitableness of good laws, by being 
in bad men's hands. 

69. Diogenes was angry with critics, who were 
nice of words, and not of their own actions; with 
musicians, who tune their instruments, but could not 
govern their passions; with astrologers, who have 
their eyes in the sky, and look not to their own 
goings ; with orators, who study to speak well, but 
not to do well ; with covetous men, that take care to 
get, but never use their estates ; with those philoso- 
phers, who despise greatness, and yet court great men ; 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 309 

and with those that sacrifice for health, and yet surfeit 
themselves with eating their sacrifices. Discoursing 
of the nature, pleasure and reward of virtue, and the 
people not regarding what he said, he fell a singing ; 
at which every one pressed to hear : whereupon he 
cried out in abhorrence of their stupidity, " How much 
more is the world in love with folly, than with wis- 
dom!" Seeing a man sprinkling himself with water, 
after having done some ill thing ; Unhappy man ! 
saith he, dost thou not know that the errors of life are 
not to be washed away with water ? To one who said, 
Life is an ill thing ; he answered, Life is not an ill 
thing ; but an ill life is an ill thing. He was very 
temperate, for his bed and his table he found every- 
where. One seeing him wash herbs, said, If thou 
hadst followed Dionysius, king of Sicily, thou wouldst 
not have needed to have washed herbs : he answered, 
If thou hadst washed herbs, thou needest not to have 
followed Dionysius. He lighted a candle at noon, say- 
ing, I look for a man ; implying, that the world was 
darkened by vice, and men effeminated. A luxurious 
person, who had wasted his means, supping upon 
olives ; he said to him, If thou hadst used to dine so, 
thou wouldst not have needed to sup so. To a young 
man dressing himself neatly, If this be for the sake of 
men, thou art unhappy ; if for women, thou art unjust. 
Another time, seeing an effeminate young man ; Art 
thou not ashamed, saith he, to use thyself worse than 
nature hath made thee ? she hath made thee a man, but 
thou wilt force thyself to be a woman. To one who 
courted a bad woman ; wretch ! said he, what mean- 
est thou, to ask for that which is better lost than found ? 
To one that smelled of sweet unguents, Have a care, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

saith he, this perfume make not thy life stink. He 
compared covetous men to such as have the dropsy : 
Those are full of money, yet desire more, more : these 
of water, yet thirst for more. Being asked, What 
beasts were the worst? In the field, saith he, bears 
and lions ; in the city, usurers and flatterers. At a 
feast, one giving him a great cup of wine, he threw 
it away; for which being blamed, If I had drank it, 
saith he, not only the wine would have been lost, but 
I also. One asking him, how he might order himself 
best ? he said, By reproving those things in thyself, 
which thou blamest in others. Another demanding, 
what was hardest ? he answered, To know ourselves,' 
to whom we are partial. Being asked, what men 
were most noble? They, saith he, who contemn 
wealth, honour and pleasure, and endure the contra- 
ries, to wit, poverty, scorn, pain and death. To a 
wicked man, reproaching him for his poverty ; I never 
knew, saith he, any man punished for his poverty, but 
many for their wickedness. To one bewailing him- 
self that he should not die in his own country ; Be of 
comfort, saith he, for the way to heaven is alike in 
every place. One day he went backwards ; whereat 
the people laughing, Are you not ashamed, saith he, 
to do that all your life-time, which you deride in me ? 

70. Crates, a Theban, famous for his self-denial 
and virtue ; descended from the house of Alexander, 
of great estate, at least two hundred talents, which he 
distributed mostly among the poor citizens, and be- 
came a constant professor of the Cynic philosophy. 
He exceedingly inveighed against common women. 
Seeing at Delphos, a golden image, that Phryne, the 
courtezan, had set up, by the gains of her trade, he 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



311 



cried out, This is a trophy of the Greeks' intempe- 
rance. Seeing a young man highly fed, and fat ; Un- 
happy youth, saith he, do not fortify thy prison. To 
another followed by a great many parasites ; Young 
man, saith he, I am sorry to see thee so much alone. 
Walking one day upon the exchange, where he beheld 
people mighty busy after their divers callings ; These 
people, saith he, think themselves happy ; but I am 
happy that have nothing to do with them : for my 
happiness is in poverty, not in riches.* Oh! men do 
not know how much a wallet, a measure of lupins, 
with security, is worth. Of his wife, Hipparchia, a 
woman of wealth and extraction, but nobler for her 
love to true philosophy, and how they came together, 
there will be occasion to make mention in its place. 

71. Aristotle, a scholar to Plato, and the oracle 
of philosophy to these very times, though not so di- 
vinely contemplative as his master, nevertheless fol- 
lows him in this ; That luxury should by good disci- 
pline be exiled from human societies.f Aristotle see- 
ing a youth gazing on his fine cloak, said to him, Why 
dost thou boast of a sheep's fleece ? He said, It was 
the duty of a good man to live under laws, as he would 
do if there were none.J 

72. Mandanis, a great and famous philosopher of 
the Gymnosophists, whom Alexander the Great re- 
quired to come to the feast of Jupiter's son, meaning 
himself, declaring, That if he came he should be re- 
warded ; if not, he should be put to death. The phi- 
losopher contemned his message, as vain and sordid ; 
he first told them, That he denied him to be Jupiter's 
son, a mere fiction. Next, That as for his gifts, he 

* Laert. f Slob. Strom. 45. | Stob. 161. Ibid. 46. 



312 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

esteemed them nothing worth ; his own country could 
furnish him with necessaries : beyond which he covet- 
ed nothing. And lastly, As for the death he threat- 
ened, he did not fear it ; but of the two, he wished it 
rather ; in that, saith he, it is a change to a more 
blessed and happy state.* 

73. Zeno, the great Stoic, and author of that philo- 
sophy, had many things admirable in him ; which he 
not only said, but practised. He was a man of great 
integrity, and so reverenced for it by the Athenians, 
that they deposited the keys of the city in his hands, 
as the only person fit to be entrusted with their liber- 
ties : yet by birth a stranger, being of Psittacon, in 
Cyprus, f 

He would say, That nothing was more unseemly 
than pride, especially in youth, which was a time of 
learning. He therefore recommended to young men 
modesty in three things ; in their walking, in their 
behaviour, and in their apparel : often repeating those 
verses of Euripides, in honour of Capaneus : 

He was not puft up with his store ; 
Nor thought himself above the poor. 

Seeing a man very finely dressed, stepping lightly 
over a kennel ; That man, saith he, doth not care for 
the dirt, because he could not see his face in it. He 
also taught, that people should not affect delicacy of 
diet, not even in sickness. Seeing a friend of his 
taken too much up with the business of his land ; 
Unless thou lose thy land, saith he, thy land will lose 
thee. Being demanded, Whether a man that doth 
wrong, may conceal it from God ? No, saith he, nor 

* Stob. 161. ibid. 46. f Slob. 161. Laert. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 313 

yet he who thinks it. Which testifies to the omni- 
presence of God. Being asked, Who was his best 
friend? he answered, My other self; intimating the 
divine part that was in him. He would say, The end 
of man was not to live, eat and drink ; but to use this 
life, so as to obtain an happy life hereafter. He was 
so humble, that he conversed with mean and ragged 
persons • whence Timon thus : 

And for companions gets of servants store, 
Of all men the most empty, and most poor. 

He was patient and frugal in his household expenses. 
Laertius saith, he had but one servant : Seneca avers, 
he had none. He was mean in his clothes ; and his 
diet is thus described by Philemon : 

He water drinks, then broth and herbs doth eat ; 
Teaching his scholars almost without meat. 

His chastity was so eminent, that it became a proverb ; 
As chaste as Zeno. When the news of his death came 
to Antigonus, he broke forth in these words, What an 
object have I lost? And being asked, Why he ad- 
mired him so much? Because, saith he, though I 
bestowed many great things upon him, he was never 
exalted or dejected therewith. The Athenians, after 
his death, by a public decree, erected a statue to his 
memory: it runs thus : " Whereas Zeno, the son of 
Mnaseas, a Scythian, has professed philosophy about 
fifty-eight years in this city, and in all things perform- 
ed the office of a good man, encouraging those young 
men, who applied themselves to him, to the love of 
virtue and temperance, leading himself a life suitable 
to the doctrine which he professed ; a pattern to the 

27 



314 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

best to imitate; the people have thought fit to do 
honour to Zeno, and to crown him with a crown of 
gold, according to law, in reward of his virtue and 
temperance, and to build a tomb for him, publicly in 
the Ceramick," &c. These two were his epitaphs, one 
by Antipater : 

Here Zeno lies, who tall Olympus scal'd 

Not heaping Pelion on Ossa's head : 
Nor by Herculean labours so prevail'd ; 

But found out virtue's paths, which thither led. 

The other by Xenodotus, the Stoic, thus : — 

Zeno, thy years to hoary age were spent, 
Not with vain riches, but with self-content. 

74. Seneca, a great and excellent philosopher, 
who, with Epictetus, shall conclude the testimonies 
of the men of their character, hath so much to our 
purpose, that his works are but a kind of continued 
evidence for us : he saith, Nature was not so much an 
enemy, as to give an easy passage through life to all 
other creatures, and that man alone should not live 
without so many arts : she hath commanded us none of 
these things. We have made all things difficult to 
us, by disdaining things that are easy : houses, clothes, 
meats, and nourishment of bodies, and those things 
which are now the care of life, are easy to come by, 
freely gotten, and prepared with light labour : for the 
measure of these things is necessity, not voluptuous- 
ness : but we have made them pernicious and they 
must be sought with art and skill. Nature sufficeth 
to that which she requireth. 

Appetite hath revolted from nature, which continu- 
ally inciteth itself, and increases with the ages, help- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 315 

ing vice by wit. First, it began to desire superfluous, 
then contrary things ; last of all, it sold the mind to 
the body, and commanded it to serve the lusts thereof. 
All these arts, wherewith the city is continually set at 
work, and maketh such a stir, do centre in the affairs 
of the body, to which all things were once performed 
as to a servant, but now are provided as for a lord. 
Hence the shops of engravers, perfumers, &c. of those 
that teach effeminate motions of the body, and vain 
and wanton songs : for natural behaviour is despised, 
which satisfied desires with necessary help : now it is 
clownishness and ill-breeding to be contented with as 
much as is requisite. What shall I speak of rich mar- 
bles curiously wrought, wherewith temples and houses 
do shine ? what of stately galleries and rich furniture ? 
These are but the devices of most vile slaves, the in- 
ventions of men, not of wise men : for wisdom sits 
deeper; it is the mistress of the mind. Wilt thou 
know what things she hath found out, what she hath 
made ? Not unseemly motions of the body, nor varia- 
ble singing by trumpet or flute ; nor yet weapons, 
wars, or fortifications ; she endeavoureth profitable 
things ; she favours peace, and calls all mankind to 
an agreement ; she leadeth to a blessed estate ; she 
openeth the way to it, and shows what is evil from 
what is good, and chaseth vanity out of the mind : 
she giveth solid greatness, but debaseth that which is 
puffed up, and would be seen of men ; she bringeth 
forth the " Image of God to be seen in the souls of 
men ;" and so from corporeal, she translateth into 
incorporeal things. Thus in the ninetieth epistle to 
Lucilius : 

To Gallio he writes thus : " All men, brother Gal- 



316 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

lio, are desirous to live happy ; yet blind to the means 
of that blessedness, as long as we wander hither and 
thither, and follow not our guide, but the dissonant 
clamour of those that call on us to undertake different 
ways. Our short life is wearied and worn away 
amongst errors, although we labour to get us a good 
mind. There is nothing therefore to be more avoid- 
ed, than following the multitude without examination, 
and believing anything without judging. Let us 
inquire what is best to be done, not what is most usu- 
ally done ; and what planteth us in the possession of 
eternal felicity : not what is ordinarily allowed of by 
the multitude, which is the worst interpreter of truth. 
I call the multitude as well those that are clothed in 
white, as those in other colours : for I examine not 
the colours of the garments, wherewith their bodies 
are clothed ; I trust not mine eyes to inform me what 
a man is ; I have a better and truer light, whereby I 
can distinguish truth from falsehood. Let the soul 
find out the good of the soul. If once she may have 
leisure to withdraw into herself, oh ! how will she con- 
fess, I wish all I have done were 'undone, and all I 
have said, when I recollect it ; I am ashamed of it, 
when I now hear the like in others. These things 
below, whereat we gaze, and whereat we stay, and 
which one man with admiration shows unto another, 
do outwardly shine, but are inwardly empty. Let us 
seek out somewhat that is good, not in appearance, 
but solid, united and best, in that which least appears ; 
let us discover this. Neither is it far from us ; we 
shall find it if we seek it. For it is wisdom, not to 
wander from that immortal nature, but to form our- 
selves according to his law and example, Blessed is 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



317 



the man who judgeth rightly : blessed is he who is 
contented with his present condition : and blessed is 
he who giveth ear to that immortal principle, in the 
government of his life." 

An whole volume of these excellent things hath he 
written. No wonder a man of his doctrine and life, 
escaped not the cruelty of brutish Nero, under whom 
he suffered death ; as also did the apostle Paul, with 
whom, it is said, Seneca had conversed. When 
Nero's messenger brought him the news that he was 
to die ; with a composed and undaunted countenance, 
he received the errand, and presently called for pen, 
ink and paper, to write his last will and testament ; 
which the captain refusing, he turned towards his 
friends, and took his leave thus : Since, my loving 
friends, I cannot bequeath you any other thing in ac- 
knowledgment of what I owe you, I leave you at least 
the richest and best portion I have, that is, The image 
of my manners and life ; which doing, you will obtain 
true happiness. His friends showing great trouble for 
the loss of him, Where, saith he, are those memorable 
precepts of philosophy ; and what is become of those 
provisions, which for so many years together we have 
laid up against the brunts and afflictions of providence ? 
W T as Nero's cruelty unknown to us ? What could we 
expect better at his hands, who killed his brother, and 
murdered his mother, but that he would also put his 
tutor and governor to death? Then turning to his 
wife, Pompeja Paulina, a Roman lady, young and 
noble, he besought her, for the love she bore him and 
his philosophy, to suffer patiently his affliction : For, 
saith he, my hour is come, wherein I must show, not 
only by discourse, but by death, the fruit I have 
27 * 



318 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

reaped by my meditations. I embrace it without 
grief; wherefore do not dishonour it with thy tears. 
Assuage thy sorrow, and comfort thyself in the know- 
ledge thou hast had of me, and of my actions ; and 
lead the rest of thy life with that honest industry thou 
hast addicted thyself to. And dedicating his life to 
God, he expired. 

75. Epictetus, contemporary with Seneca, and an 
excellent man, thought no man worthy of the profes- 
sion of philosophy, who was not purified from the 
errors of his nature. His morals were excellent, which 
he comprised under these two words, Sustaining and 
Abstaining; or Bearing and Forbearing: To avoid 
evil, and patiently to suffer afflictions ; which are the 
perfection of the best philosophy that was at any time 
taught by Egyptians, Greeks or Romans, when it sig- 
nified virtue, self-denial, and a life of religious soli- 
tude and contemplation. 

How little the Christians of the times are true phi- 
losophers, and how much more these philosophers 
were Christians than they, let the righteous principle 
in every conscience judge. But is it not then intole- 
rable, that they should be esteemed Christians, who 
are yet to learn to be good heathens, who prate of 
grace and nature, and know neither; who will pre- 
sume to determine what is become of heathens, . and 
know not where they are themselves, nor mind what 
may become of them ; who can run readily over a 
tedious list of famous personages, and calumniate such 
as will not, with them, celebrate their memories with 
extravagant and superfluous praises, whilst they make 
it laudable to act the contrary ; and no way to become 
vile so ready, as not to be vicious ? A strange para- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



319 



dox, but too true : so blind, so stupified, so besotted 
are the foolish sensualists of the world, under their 
great pretences to religion, faith and worship. Ah ! 
did they but know the peace, the joy, the unspeakable 
ravishments of soul, which inseparably attend the 
innocent, harmless, still and retired life of Jesus ; did 
they but weigh within themselves the authors of their 
vain delights and pastimes, the nature and disposition 
they are so grateful to, the dangerous consequence of 
exercising the mind and affections below, and arrest- 
ing and taking them up from their due attendance and 
obedience to the most holy voice crying in their con- 
sciences, " Repent, Return : All is vanity and vexa- 
tion of spirit." Were but these things reflected upon ; 
were the incessant wooings of Jesus, and his importu- 
nate knocks and intreaties, by his light and grace, at 
the door of their hearts, but kindly answered, and He 
admitted to take up his abode there ; and lastly, were 
such resolved to give up to the instructions and holy 
guidance of his eternal Spirit, in all the humble, hea- 
venly and righteous conversation it requires, and of 
which he is become our captain and example ; then, 
oh ! then, both root and branch of vanity, the nature 
that invented, and that which delights herself therein, 
with all the follies themselves, would be consumed 
and vanish. But they, alas ! cheat themselves by mis- 
construed Scriptures, and daub with the untempered 
mortar of misapplied promises. They will be saints, 
whilst they are sinners ; and in Christ whilst in the 
spirit of the world, walking after the flesh and not 
after the spirit, by which the true children of God are 
led. My friends, mind the just witness and holy prin- 
ciple in yourselves, that you may experimentally know 



320 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

more of the divine life ? in which, and not in a multi- 
tude of vain repetitions, true and solid felicity con- 
sists. 

IV. Nor is this reputation, wisdom and virtue, only 
to be attributed to men : there were women also, in 
the Greek and Roman ages, who honoured their sex by 
great examples of meekness, prudence, and chastity : 
and which I do the rather mention, that the honour 
history yields to their virtuous conduct may raise an 
allowable emulation in those of their own sex, at least 
to equal the noble character given them by antiquity. 
I will begin with 

76. Penelope, wife to Ulysses, a woman eminent 
for her beauty and quality, but more for her singular 
chastity. Her husband was absent from her twenty 
years ; partly in the service of his country, and partly 
in exile ; and being believed to be dead, she was 
earnestly sought by divers lovers, and pressed by her 
parents to change her condition ; but all the importu- 
nities of the one, or persuasions of the other, not pre- 
vailing, her lovers seemed to use a kind of violence, 
that where they could not entice, they would compel : 
to which she yielded, upon this condition ; That they 
would not press her to marry, till she had ended the 
work she had in hand : which they granting, she undid 
by night what she wrought by day; and with that 
honest device delayed their desire, till her worthy 
husband returned, whom she received, though in 
beggar's clothes, with an heart full of love and truth. 
A constancy that reproaches too many women of the 
times, who, without the excuse of such an absence, can 
violate their husbands' bed. Her work shows the 
industry and employment, even of the women of great 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



321 



quality in those times ; whilst those of the present age 
despise such honest labour, as mean and mechanical. 

77. Hipparchia, a fair Macedonian virgin, noble 
of blood, as they term it, but more truly noble of mind, 
I cannot omit to mention ; who entertained so earnest 
an affection for Crates, the cynical philosopher, as well 
for his severe life as excellent discourse, that by no 
means could her relations or suitors, by all their wealth, 
nobility, and beauty, dissuade her from being his com- 
panion. Upon this strange resolution, they all betook 
themselves to Crates, beseeching him to show himself 
a true philosopher, in dissuading her to desist ; which 
he strongly endeavoured by many arguments ; but not 
prevailing, went his way, and brought all the little 
furniture of his house, and showed her : This, saith 
he, is thy husband ; that, the furniture of thy house : 
consider on it, for thou canst not be mine, unless thou 
followest the same course of life ; for being rich above 
twenty talents, which is more than fifty thousand 
pounds, he neglected all, to follow a retired life. All 
this had so contrary an effect, that she immediately 
w r ent to him, before them all, and said, I seek not the 
pomp and effeminacy of this w r orld, but knowledge 
and virtue, Crates ; and choose a life of temperance, 
before a life of delicacies : for true satisfaction, thou 
know^est, is in the mind ; and that pleasure is only 
worth seeking, which lasts forever. Thus she became 
the constant companion both of his love and life, his 
friendship and his virtues ; travelling with him from 
place to place, and performing the public exercises of 
instruction w T ith Crates, wherever they came. She 
was a most violent enemy to all impiety, but especially 
to wanton men and women, and those whose garb and 



322 



no cross, no crown: 



conversation showed them devoted to vain pleasures 
and pastimes : effeminacy rendering the like persons 
not only unprofitable, but pernicious to the whole 
world. Which she as well made good by the example 
of her exceeding industry, temperance, and severity, 
as those are wont to do by their intemperance and 
folly : for ruin of health, estates, virtue, and loss of 
eternal happiness, have ever attended, and ever will 
attend, such earthly minds. 

78. Lucretia, a most chaste Roman dame, whose 
name and virtue is known by the tragedy that follows 
them. Sextus, the son of Tarquin the proud, king of 
Rome, hearing it was her custom to work late in her 
chamber, did there attempt her, with his sword in his 
hand, vowing he would run her through, and put one 
of his servants in the posture of lying with her, on 
purpose to defame her, if she would not yield to his 
lusts. Having forced his wicked end, she sent for her 
father, then governor of Rome, her husband, and her 
friends, to whom having revealed the matter, and with 
tears lamented her irreparable calamity, she slew her- 
self in their presence ; that it might not be said Lu- 
cretia outlived her chastity, even when she could not 
defend it. I praise the virtue, but not the act. But 
God soon avenged this, with other impieties, upon that 
wicked family; for the people hearing what Sextus 
had done, whose flagitious life they equally hated with 
his father's tyranny ; and their sense of both, aggra- 
vated by the reverence they conceived for the chaste 
and exemplary life of Lucretia, betook themselves to 
their arms ; and headed by her father, her husband, 
Brutus, and Valerius, they drove out the Tarquin 
family : in which action the hand of Brutus avenged 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 323 

the blood of Lucretia upon infamous Sextus, whom 
he slew in the battle. 

79. Cornelia, also a noble Roman matron, and 
sister to Scipio, was esteemed the most famous and 
honourable personage of her time, not more for the 
greatness of her birth, than her exceeding temperance. 
History particularly mentions, as one great instance of 
her virtue, for which she was so much admired, That 
she never was accustomed to wear rich apparel, but 
such attire as was very plain and grave ; rather making 
her children, whom her instructions and example had 
made virtuous, her greatest ornaments : a good pattern 
for the vain and wanton dames of the age. 

80. Pontia was another Roman dame, renowned 
for her singular modesty : for though Octavius attempt- 
ed her with all imaginable allurements and persuasions, 
she chose rather to die by his cruelty, than be polluted. 
So he took her life, though he could not violate her 
chastity. 

81 . Arria, wife of Cecinna Psetus, is not less famous 
in story for the magnanimity she showed, in being the 
companion of her husband's disgraces, who thrust 
herself into prison with him, that she might be his 
servant. 

82. Pompeia Plautina, wife to Julianus the empe- 
ror, commended for her compassion of the poor, used 
the power her virtue had given her with her husband, 
to put him upon all the just and tender things that 
became his charge, and to dissuade him from whatso- 
ever seemed harsh to the people : particularly, she 
diverted him from a great tax which his flatterers ad- 
vised him to lay upon the people. 

83. Plotina, the wife of Trajan, a woman, saith a 



324 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



certain author, adorned with piety, chastity, and all 
the virtues that a woman is capable of. As an instance 
of her piety ; When her husband was proclaimed em- 
peror, she mounted the capitol after the choice ; where, 
in a religious manner, she said, " Oh that I may live 
under all this honour, with the same virtue and con- 
tent that I enjoyed before I had it!" 

84. Pompeia Paulina, a Roman lady of youth and 
beauty, descended of the most noble families of Rome, 
fell in love with Seneca, for the excellency of his 
doctrine, and the gravity and purity of his manners. 
They married and lived together examples to both 
their sexes. So great was her value for her husband, 
and so little did she care to live when he was to die, 
that she chose to be the companion of his death as 
she had been of his life : and her veins were cut as 
well as his, whilst she was the auditor of his excellent 
discourses : but Nero hearing of it, and fearing lest 
Paulina's death might bring him great reproach, be- 
cause of her noble alliance in Rome, sent with all 
haste to have her wounds closed, and, if it were pos- 
sible, to save her life : which, though as one half dead, 
was done, and she against her will lived. 

85, Thus may the voluptuous women of the times 
read their reproof in the character of a heathen ; and 
learn, that solid happiness consists in a divine and 
holy composure of mind, a neglect of wealth and 
greatness, and a contempt of all corporal pleasures, as 
more befitting beasts than immortal spirits : and which 
are loved by none but such, as not knowing the ex- 
cellency of heavenly things, are both inventing and 
delighting, like brutes, in that which perisheth ; giving 
the preference to poor mortality, and spending their 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 325 

lives to gratify the lusts of flesh and blood, "that shall 
never enter into the kingdom of heaven:" By all 
which their minds become darkened, and insensible 
of celestial glories, that they do not only refuse to 
inquire after them, but infamously scoff and despise 
those who do, as a foolish and mad people : To this 
strange degree of darkness and impudence this age 
has got. But if the exceeding temperance, chastity, 
virtue, industry, and contentedness of very heathens^ 
with the plain and necessary enjoyments God has been 
pleased to vouchsafe the sons and daughters of men, 
as sufficient to their wants and conveniency, that they 
may be the more at leisure to answer the great end of 
their being born, will not suffice, but that they will 
exceed the bounds, precepts, and , examples, both of 
heathens and Christians ; anguish and tribulation will 
overtake them, when they shall have an eternity to, 
think, with gnashing teeth, on what to all eternity 
they can never remedy : these dismal wages are de- 
creed for them who so far affront God, as to neglect 
their salvation from sin here, and wrath to come, for 
the enjoyment of a few fading pleasures* For such 
to thinks notwithstanding their lives of sense and 
pleasure, wherein their minds become slaves to their 
bodies, that they shall be everlastingly happy, is an 
addition to their evils ; since it is a great abuse to the 
holy God, that men and women should believe Him 
an eternal companion of their carnal and sensual 
minds: for, " as the tree falls, so it lies;" and as death 
leaves men, judgment finds them : and there is no 
repentance in the grave. Therefore I beseech you, to 
whom this comes, to retire: withdraw a while; let 
not the body see all, taste all, enjoy all ; but let ih$ 

2B 



326 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

soul see too, taste, and enjoy those heavenly comforts 
and refreshments, proper to that eternal world of which 
she is to be an inhabitant, and where she must ever 
abide in a state of peace or plagues, when this visible 
one shall be dissolved. 



CHAPTER XX. 

1. The doctrine of Christ from Matt. v. about denial of self. 2. John 
Baptist's example. 3. The testimony of the apostle Peter, &c. 4. 
Paul's godly exhortation against pride, covetousness, and luxury. 5. 
The primitive Christians' nonconformity to the world. 6. Clemens 
Romanus against the vanity of the Gentiles. 7. Machiavel of the 
zeal of the primitive Christians. 8. Tertullian, Chrysostom, &c. on 
Matt. xii. 36. 9. Gregory Nazianzen. 10. Jerom. 11. Hilary, 
12. Ambrose. 13. Augustine. 14. Council of Carthage. 15. Cardan. 
16. Gratian. 17. Petrus Bellonius. 18. Waldenses. 19. What they 
understood by daily bread in the Lord's Prayer. 20. Their judgment 

I concerning taverns. 21. Dancing, music, &c. 22. An epistle of 
Bartholomew Tertian to the Waldensian churches, &c. 23. Their 
extreme suffering and faithfulness. Their degeneracy reproved that 
call them their ancestors. 24. Paulinus, bishop of Nola, relieving 
slaves and prisoners. 25. Acacius, bishop of Amida, his charity to 
enemies. 

Having abundantly shown, how the doctrine and 
conversation of the virtuous Gentiles condemn the 
pride, avarice, and luxury of the professed Christians 
of the times ; I shall, in the next place, to discharge 
my engagement, and farther fortify this discourse, pre- 
sent my reader with the judgment and practice of the 
most Christian times ; as also of eminent writers both 
ancient and modern. I shall begin with the blessed 
Author of that religion.* 

* The doctrine and practice of the blessed Lord Jesus and his apos- 
tles, the primitive Christians, and those of more modern limes, in favour 
of this discourse. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



327 



1. Jesus Christ, in whose mouth there was found 
no guile, sent from God with a testimony of love to 
mankind, and who laid down his life for their salva- 
tion ; whom God hath raised by his mighty power to 
be Lord of all, is of right to be first heard in this mat- 
ter ; for never man spake like him, to our point ; 
short, clear and close ; and all opposite to the way of 
this wicked world. " Blessed, says he, are the poor 
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God he doth 
not say, Blessed are the proud, the rich, the highmind-, 
ed : here humility and the fear of the Lord are blest. 
ct Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be com- 
forted :" he doth not say, Blessed are the feasters, 
dancers and revellers of the w T orld, whose life is swal- 
lowed up of pleasure and jollity : no, as he was a 
man of sorrows, so he blest the godly-sorrowful. 
" Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the 
earth:" he doth not say, Blessed are the ambitious, 
the angry, and those who are puffed up : he makes 
not the earth a blessing to them : and though they get 
it by conquest and rapine, it will at last fall into the 
hand of the meek to inherit. Again, " Blessed are 
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness :" 
but no blessing to the hunger and thirst of the luxu- 
rious man. " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall 
obtain mercy he draws men to tenderness and for- 
giveness, by reward. Hast thou one in thy power 
who hath wronged thee ? be not rigorous, exact not 
the utmost farthing; be merciful, and pity the afflicted, 
for such are blessed. Yet farther, " Blessed are the 
pure in heart, for they shall see God he doth not 
say, Blessed are the proud, the covetous, the unclean, 
the voluptuous, the malicious : no, such shall never 



328 



See God. Again, " Blessed are the peace-makers, for 
they shall be called the children of God :" he doth 
not say, Blessed are the contentious, back-biters, tale- 
bearers, brawlers, fighters, makers of war; neither 
shall they be called the children of God, whatever 
they may call themselves. Lastly, « Blessed are you, 
when men shall revile you, and persecute you ; and 
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake ; 
rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward 
in heaven;" he blesseth the troubles of his people, 
and translates earthly suffering into heavenly rewards! 
He doth not say, blessed are you when the world 
speaks well of you, and fawns upon you : so that his 
blessings cross the world's for the world blesseth 
those as happy, who have the world's favour : He 
blessed those as happy, who have the world's frowns. 
This solveth the great objection, " Why are you so 
foolish to expose yourselves to the law, to incur the 
displeasure of magistrates, and suffer the loss of your 
estates and liberties ? Cannot a man serve God in his 
heart, and do as others do ? Are you wiser than your 
forefathers ? call to mind your ancestors. Will you 
question their salvation by your novelties, and forget 
the future good of your wife and children, as well as 
sacrifice the present comforts of your life, to hold up 
the credit of a party?" a language I have more than 
once heard : I say, this doctrine of Christ is an answer 
and antidote against the power of this objection. He 
teaches us to embrace truth under all those scandals. 
The Jews had more to say of this kind than any, whose 
way had a more extraordinary institution ; but Christ 
minds not either institution or succession. He was a 
New Man, and came to consecrate a new way, and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 329 

that in the will of God ; and the power which accom- 
panied his ministry, and that of his followers, abun- 
dantly proved the divine authority of his mission, w T ho 
thereby warns his servants to expect and to bear con- 
tradiction, reviling and persecution: for if they did 
it to the green tree, much more were they to expect 
that they would do it to the dry : if to the Lord, then 
to the servant. 

Why then should Christians fear that reproach and 
tribulation, which are the companions of His religion, 
sinc^they work to his sincere followers a far more ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory? But indeed 
they have great cause to fear and be ashamed who are 
the authors of such reproach and suffering, so con- 
trary to the meek and merciful Spirit of Christ : for if 
they are blessed who are reviled and persecuted for 
his sake ; the revilers and persecutors must be cursed. 
But this is not all : he bade his disciples " follow him, 
and learn of him, for he was meek and lowly he 
taught them to bear injuries, and not smite again ; to 
exceed in kindness ; to go two miles, when asked to 
go one ; to part with cloak and coat too ; to give to 
them that ask, and to lend to them that borrow ; to 
forgive, nay, and love enemies too ; commanding 
them, saying, " Bless them that curse you ; do good 
to them that hate you ; and pray for them which de- 
spitefully use you and persecute you urging them 
with this most sensible demonstration, " That you 
may be the children of your Father, which is in 
heaven ; for he maketh the sun to rise upon the good 
and the evil, and his rain to descend upon the just 
and the unjust." He also taught his disciples to be- 
lieve and rely upon God's providence, from the care 

28* 



330 KO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

he had over the least of his creatures : " Therefore," 
saith he, "I say unto you, take no thought for your 
life, what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, nor 
yet for your body, what you shall put on : is not the 
life more than meat, and the body, than raiment ? 
Behold the fowls of the air : for they sow not, neither 
do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly 
Father feedeth them ; are you not much better than 
they ? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one 
cubit unto his stature ? And why take ye thought for 
raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin : and yet I 
say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was 
not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so 
clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to- 
morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more 
clothe you ? ye of little faith ? Therefore take no 
thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we 
drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed, for after 
all these things do the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly 
Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. 
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his 
righteousness, and all these things shall be added 
unto you. Take therefore no thought for to-morrow, 
for to-morrow shall take thought for the things of 
itself ; sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." 

Oh ! how plain, how sweet, how full, yet how brief, 
are his blessed sentences! they thereby show from 
whence they came, and that Divinity itself spoke 
them. Whatever is laboured, forced and scattered 
in the best of other writers, and not all neither, is 
here comprised after a natural, easy and conspicuous 
manner. He sets nature above art, and trust above 



HQ caoss, no crown. 331 

care. This is he himself, who came poor into the 
world, and so lived in it : he lay in a manger, con- 
versed with mechanics ; fasted much, retired often : 
and when he feasted, it was with barley loaves and 
fish, dressed doubtless in an easy and homely manner. 
He was solitary in his life, in his death ignominious. 

The foxes had holes, the birds of the air had nests, 
but the Son of man had not a place whereon to lay 
his head." He who made all things as God, had 
nothing as man. Which hath this blessed instruction 
in it, that the meanest and poorest should not be de- 
jected, nor yet the richest and highest be exalted. In 
fine, having taught this doctrine, and lived as he spoke, 
he died to confirm it ; and offered up himself a propi- 
ation for the " sins of the whole world, " when no 
other sacrifice could be found, which could atone for 
man with God : Rising above the power of death and 
the grave, he led captivity captive, and is become the 
first-born from the dead, the Lord of the living ; and 
his living people praise him, who is worthy forever. 

2. John the Baptist, who was the fore-runner of 
Christ's appearance in the flesh, by his own abstinence 
sufficiently declared what sort of a person it was, he 
came to prepare the people to receive. For, though 
sanctified in his mother's womb, and declared by 
Christ to be the greatest of all prophets, yet his cloth- 
ing was but a coarse garment of camel's hair, and a 
leathern girdle, and his food only locusts and wild 
honey : a life very natural and of great simplicity. 
This was all the pomp and retinue, which the greatest 
ambassador that ever came to the world was attended 
with, about the best of messages, to wit, " Repent, 
for the kingdom of God is at hand." And, " There 



332 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

is One coming after me, whose shoes-latchet I am not 
worthy to unloose, who shall baptize you with fire 
and with the Holy Ghost; and is the Lamb of God 
that taketh away the sin of the world. " Did the fore- 
runner of the coming of God, for Emanuel is God with 
men, appear without the state, grandeur and luxury of 
the world ? and shall those who pretend to receive the 
message, and that as glad-tidings too, and confess the 
Emmanuel, Christ Jesus, to be the Lord, live in the 
vanity and excess of the world, and care more for 
their fine clotheS; de]icate ^ ^ ^ 

stately attendance, and pleasant diversion, than for 
the holy cross of Christ, and the blessed narrow way 
that leadeth to salvation ? Be ashamed and repent ' 

3. Peter, Andrew, Philip, and the rest of the holy 
apostles, were by calling, as well as doctrine, not a 
luxurious people. They were poor fishermen and 
mechanics; for Christ called not his disciples out 
ot the higher ranks of men: nor had they ability 
anymore than will, to use the excesses herein re- 
proved. You may conceive what their lives were by 
what their Master's doctrine was ; for they were the 
true scholars of this heavenly discipline. Peter thus 
speaks, and exhorteth the Christians of his time « Let 
not your adorning be that outward adorning of plaiting 
the hair, and the wearing of gold, and of putting on 
of apparel ; but let it be the hidden man of the heart 
m that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of 
a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God 
of great price; for after this manner in the old time, 
the holy women, who also trusted in God, adorned 
themselves. Wherefore gird up the loins of your 
minds, be sober, and hope to the end, as obedient 



NQ CROSS, NO CROWN. odd 

children ; not fashioning yourselves according to your 
former lusts, in your ignorance, but as he which hath 
called you is holy, so be you holy in all manner of 
conversation. And giving all diligence, add to your 
faith, virtue ; to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, 
temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to 
patience, godliness ; and to godliness, brotherly kind- 
ness ; and to brotherly kindness, charity : for if these 
things be in you, and abound, they make you that you 
shall be neither barren nor unfruitful : for so an en- 
trance shall be ministered unto you abundantly, into 
the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ : Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for rail- 
ing ; but contrary- wise, blessing; knowing that you 
are thereunto called, that you should inherit a blessing : 
for even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also 
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should 
follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile 
found in his mouth ; who, when he was reviled, 
reviled not again ; when he suffered, he threatened 
not, but committed himself to him thatjudgeth righte- 
ously." 

4. Paul, who was also an apostle, though, as he 
saith, "born out of due time :" a man of great know- 
ledge and learning, but " I count it, saith he, all loss 
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my 
Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, 
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. 
Brethren, be followers of me, and mark them which 
walk so, as ye have us for an example : for many 
walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell 
you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the 
cross of Christ, whose end is destruction ; for their 



334 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

god is their belly, they glory in their shame, and they 
mind earthly things. For our conversation is in 
heaven ; from whence we look also for our Saviour 
the Lord Jesus Christ. In like manner also, I will 
that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with 
shamefacedness and sobriety ; not with broidered hair 
or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but with good 
works, as becometh women professing godliness Be 
followers of God, as dear children ; and walk in love 
as Christ also hath loved us: but fornication, and all 
uncleanness, and covetousness, let it not be once 
named amongst you, as becometh saints; neither fil- 
thmess, nor foolish talking nor jesting, which are not 
convenient; but rather giving of thanks: for this ye 
know, that no whoremonger, unclean person, nor 
covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance 
in the kingdom of Christ and of God. See then that 
you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, re- 
deeming the time, because the days are evil. Where- 
fore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the 
will of the Lord is ; and be not drunk with wine, 
wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit, speak- 
ing to yourselves in hymns and spiritual songs, sing- 
ing, and making melody in your hearts to the Lord 
Rejoice m the Lord always ; and I say again, rejoice. 
Let your moderation be known to all men, for the 
Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; for we 
brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we 
can carry nothing out : and, having food and raiment, 
let us be therewith content; for godliness, with con- 
tentment is great gain : But they that will be rich, fall 
into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and 
hurtful lusts, which drown men in perdition and de- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



335 



struction : for the love of money is the root of all evil ; 
which whilst some coveted after, they have erred from 
the faith, and pierced themselves through with many 
sorrows. But thou, man of God, flee these things, 
and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, 
patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, 
and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also 
called, and hast professed a good profession before 
many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of 
God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ 
Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good 
confession, that thou keep this commandment without 
spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Charge them that are rich in this world, 
that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain 
riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly 
all things to enjoy ; that they do good, that they be 
rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to 
communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good 
foundation against the time to come, that they may 
lay hold on eternal life. Timothy, keep that which 
is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain 
babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so called, 
which some professing, have erred concerning the 
faith. Grace be with thee, Amen." 

This is the blessed doctrine which these messen- 
gers of eternal life declared ; and what is more, they 
lived as they spoke. You find an account of their 
reception in the world and the way of their living, is 
in his first epistle to the Corinthians ; " For I think, 
saith he, that God hath set forth us, the apostles, last, 
as it were men appointed to death ; for we are made 
a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We 



336 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



are fools for Christ's sake ; we are weak, we are des^ 
pised : even unto this present hour we both hunger 
and thirst, and have no certain dwelling-place ; and 
labour, working with our hands : Being reviled, we 
bless : being persecuted, we suffer it ; being defamed; 
we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, and 
are as the off-scouring of all things unto this day." 
This is the entertainment those faithful followers of 
Jesus received at the hands of an ungrateful world : 
but he who tells us of this, also tells us it is no unu- 
sual thing ; " For," saith he, " such as will live godly 
in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution." Besides, 
he knew it had been the portion of the righteous in 
preceding ages, as in his excellent account of the 
faith, trials and victory of the holy ancients, in his 
epistle to the Hebrews, he largely expresses where he 
tells us, how great a sojourner Abraham was, even in 
the land of promise, a stranger in his own country, for 
God had given it unto him and his posterity ; " Dwell- 
ing," saith he, in tents with Isaac and Jacob." And 
why not b etter settled ? Was it for want of understand- 
ing, or ability, or materials ? No, he gives a better 
reason ; " For," saith he, " Abraham looked for a city 
which had foundations, whose builder and maker is 
God." And speaking of Moses, he tells us, "That 
by faith, when he was come to years of discretion, he 
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of 
God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, 
esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than 
the treasures of Egypt ; for he had respect unto the 
recompense of reward, nor feared he the wrath of the 
king, for he endured, seeing him who is invisible." 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 337 

He adds, " And others had trials of cruel mocking 
and scourgings ; yea, moreover, of bonds and impris- 
onments : they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, 
were tempted, were slain with the sword ; they wan- 
dered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being des- 
titute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not 
worthy. They wandered in deserts, and in moun- 
tains, and in dens, and caves of the earth ; and these 
all have obtained a good report." Methinks this 
should a little abate the intemperance of professed 
Christians. I do not bid them be thus miserable, but 
I would not have them make themselves so hereafter; 
for even this afflicted life hath joys transcending the 
utmost pleasure which sin can give, and in the end it 
will be found that it were better to be a poor pilgrim, 
than a citizen of the world. Nor was this only the 
life and instruction of apostolical teachers ; the same 
plainness and simplicity of life was also followed by 
the first Christians. 

5. Ouselius, in his Animadversions on Minutius 
Felix, saith, the primitive Christians were reproached 
by the Gentiles, for their ill-breeding, rude and un- 
polished language and unfashionable behaviour, as a 
people who knew not how to carry themselves in their 
addresses and salutations, calling them rustics and 
clowns, which the Christians easily bore, valuing their 
profession the more for its non-conformity to the world ; 
wherefore it was usual with them, by way of irony 
and contempt, to call the Gentiles, the well-bred, the 
eloquent, and the learned. This he proves by ample 
testimonies out of Arnobius, Lactantius, Isiodorus, 
Pelusiota, Theodoret and others. Which may instruct 
us, that the Christian's behaviour was not regulated by 

29 



338 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



the customs of the country they lived in, as is usually 
objected against our singularity : no, they refused the 
embellishment of art, and would not wear the furni- 
ture of her invention ; but as they were singular in 
their religion, so in the way of their conversation 
among men."* 

6. Clemens Romanus, if author of the Constitutions 
that go under his name, hath this among the rest : 
" Abstain from the vain books of the Gentiles. What 
have you to do with strange and unprofitable dis- 
courses, which only serve to seduce weak persons?"! 
This Clement is remembered by Paul in one of his 
epistles ; who in this exactly follow his advice to 
Timothy, about vain questions, doubtful disputes, and 
opposition of science. J Let us see how this modera- 
tion and purity of manners continued. 

7. Machiavel, no mean author, in his Disputations 
assures us, That the first promoters of Christianity 
were so diligent in rooting out the vanities and super- 
stitions of the Gentiles, that they commanded all such 
poets and historians, as commended anything of the 
Gentile conversation or worship, to be burned. § But 
that zeal is evidently extinguished, and those follies 
revived among the professors of the religion of Jesus. 

8. Tertullian, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Gre- 
gory Nazianzene,|| upon these words of Christ, " But 
I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall 
speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of 
judgment," thus reflect upon vain discourse: " The 
words mean," saith Tertullian, " of all vain and su- 

* Animad. in Min. Fel. p. 25. t Constit. Clem. Rom. 1. 1, c. 2. 
X Phil. iv. 3. § Mach. Dis. 1. 2, c. 5. 

|| Tert. lib. de Patien. Chrysost. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



339 



perfluous speech, more talk than is necessary :" says 
Chrysostom, " Of such words as are not convenient, 
nor profitable, but move immodesty." Says Theo- 
phylact, " Of all lies, calumnies, all inordinate and 
ridiculous speeches." Says Gregory, "Such words 
men shall account for, which want that profit ever 
redounding from modest discourses, and that are sel- 
dom uttered from any preceding necessity or cause ; 
things frivolous, fables, old wives tales." All which 
sufficiently reprehend the plays, poetry, and romances 
of the times, of great folly, vanity and sin. 

9. Gregory, a father of the church, and a very 
extraordinary man, was so zealous for the simplicity 
and purity of the mind, language, and lives of the 
Christians of his time, that he suppressed several 
Greek authors, as Menander, Diphilus, Apollodorus, 
Philemon, Alexis, Sappho, and others, which were the 
recreations of the vain Gentiles. Hear his judgment 
of fine clothes, which are none of the least part of the 
luxury and vanity of the age, " There be some," saith 
he, " are of opinion that the wearing of precious and 
sumptuous apparel is no sin ; which if it were no fault, 
the divine word would never have so punctually ex- 
pressed, nor historically related, how the rich man, 
that was tormented in hell, was clothed hi purple and 
silk ; whence we may note, that, touching the matter 
or subject of attire, human curiosity availeth highly. 
The first substance of our garments was very mean, 
to wit, skins with wool ; whence it is we read, God 
made Adam and his wife coats of skins ; that is, of 
skins of dead beasts. Afterwards, in the growing 
pride and vanity of men and women, they came to 
pure wool, because lighter ; after that to flax : then to 



340 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

the ordure of worms, to wit, silk ; lastly, to gold and 
silver, and precious stones ; which excess of apparel 
highly displeased God : An instance whereof, which 
the very pagans themselves observed, we read, that 
the very first among the Romans who ever wore pur- 
ple was struck with a thunderbolt, and so died sud- 
denly, for a terror to all succeeding times, that none 
should attempt to live proudly in precious attire." 
This was the sense of Gregory Nazianzene, that an- 
cient Christian writer, who wore commonly a" poor 
coat, like to a frock ; so did Justin Martyr, Jerom, and 
Austin, as their best robe. 

10. Jerom, a famous man, and also styled a father 
of the church, above all others seems positive in this 
matter, in an epistle he wrote to a noble virgin, called 
Dometrias, in which he exhorted her, That after she 
had ended her devotion, she should take in hand wool 
and weaving, after the commendable example of Dor- 
cas ; that by such changing and variety of works, the 
day might seem less tedious, and the attempts of Satan 
less grievous; concluding his religious exhortation 
with this positive sentence : " I speak generally ; No 
raiment or habit whatsoever shall seem precious in 
Christ's sight, but that which thou makest thyself; 
either for thy own particular use, or example of other 
virgins, or to give unto thy grandmother or mother : 
no, though otherwise thou didst distribute thy goods 
to the poor." Let but this strictness be considered, 
and compared with the apparel and conversation of 
the age : for, however pharisee-like they otherwise 
saint him, and call him an holy father, sure it is, they 
reject his counsel. 

11. Hilary, bishop of Poictiers, a father of the 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



341 



church, and famous for his writings against the Arians, 
having travelled into Syria, was informed, that Abra, 
his only daughter, whom he left with her mother, was 
by the greatest lords of the country solicited in mar- 
riage ; being a young woman well-bred, fair and rich, 
and in the prime of her age. He wrote to her, ear- 
nestly pressing her, By no means to fix her affections 
upon the pleasure, greatness, or advantage that might 
be presented to her ; for in his voyage he had found 
a greater and worthier match, an husband of far more 
power and magnificence, who would endow her with 
robes and jewels of an inestimable value. This he 
did to take off her desires from the world, that he 
might wed her unto God : And it was his fervent and 
frequent prayer, which in some sense was answered ; 
for she lived religiously, and died a virgin. He thus- 
showed great nobility of mind, and taught his daughter 
to tread upon the mountains of worldly glory ; and it 
was not less honourable in her, who so readily yielded 
to the excellent counsel of her pious father. 

12. Ambrose, another father, was lieutenant of the 
province and city of Milan, and upon his discreetly 
appeasing the multitude, who were disordered upon 
some difference amongst them about electing a bishop, 
was by their uniform consent chosen himself. Although 
this person, of all others, might have been thought to 
plead for the accustomed recreations, especially as he 
had not been long a Christian, for he was a Catechu- 
menist, or one but lately instructed, at the time of his 
being elected : yet doth he in so many words deter- 
mine the matter thus : " Plays ought not to be known 
by Christians then not made, heard, and defended 
by them, or they must be no Christians who do so, 

29* 



342 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

13. Augustine, famous for his many books, and 
knowledge in church affairs, whose sentences are 
oracles with some, gives as his opinion of plays, and 
the like recreations, " That they were more pernicious 
and abominable, than those idolatrous sacrifices which 
were offered in honour of their pagan gods."* Doubt- 
less he thought the one not so offensive to reason, and 
the impressions which Divinity hath made on every 
understanding, as the other, which were pleasant to 
the senses, and therefore apt to steal away the mind 
from better things. It was his maxim, " That every- 
thing a man doth, is either an hindrance or furtherance 
to good. 5, f This would be esteemed intolerable doc- 
trine in a poor Quaker ; yet will the Quaker rejoice, 
if it be esteemed and followed, as good doctrine in 
Augustine. 

14. The Council of Carthage, though times then 
began to look somewhat more misty, and the purity 
and spirituality of religion to be much declined by the 
professors of Christianity ; yet there was so much zeal 
left against the worst part of heathenism, that I find 
an express Canon against the reading of vain books 
and comedies of the Gentiles, lest the minds of the 
people should be defiled by them. But this age either 
hath no such Canon, or executeth it not, to the shame 
of their profession. 

15. Cardan more particularly relateth, how even 
Gregory the great was so zealous of preserving purity 
of manners among Christians, who lived almost two 
hundred years after the Carthagenian Council, that he 
caused many Latin authors to be burned, as vain and 



* August, de civit. Dei, 1. 2, 7. 



f De ira Dei, I. 2, c. 7. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



343 



lascivious ; as Caecilianus, Affranius, Naevius, Liciiius, 
Zeunius, Attilius, Victor, Livy's Dialogues. Nor did 
Plautus, Martial, and Terence, so much in request 
both in the schools and academies of the land, escape 
their honest zeal, although the multitude of copies so 
far frustrated their good intentions, that they are mul- 
tiplied of late.* 

16. Gratian also had such like passages as these, 
" We see that the priests of the Lord, neglecting the 
gospel and the prophets, read comedies or play-books 
and sing love-verses, and read Virgil, "f a book in 
which are yet some good expressions. Strange ! that 
these things should have been so severely censured of 
old, and that persons whose names are had in so much 
reverence, should consider these their censures as the 
plain construction of Christ's precepts, and the natural 
consequences of the Christian doctrine ; and yet that 
they should be so far neglected by this age, as not to 
be judged worthy an imitation. But let us hear what 
doctrine the Waldenses teach in this affair. 

17. Petrus Bellonius, that great and inquisitive 
traveller, when he came to Mount Athos, where there 
live in several monasteries six thousand Coloeri, or 
religious persons, so called, he did not so much as 
find there, no, nor in all Greece, one man acquainted 
with the conversation of those parts ; for though they 
had several manuscripts of divinity in their libraries, 
yet not one poet or historian ; for the rulers of that 
church were such enemies to that sort of learning, that 
they anathematized all such priests and religious per- 
sons, as should read or transcribe any books but what 

* Cardan, de Sapient. I. 2. 

t Jac. Laurentio de lib. Gentil. p. 40, 41. 



344 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

treated of religion : and persuaded all others, that it 
was not lawful for a Christian to study poesy, &c, 
though nothing is more grateful in these days. Zeno 
was of the same opinion against poetry.* 

18. Waldenses, were a people so called, from one 
Peter Waldo, a citizen of Lyons, in France, in the 
year 1160, who inhabited Piedmont, elsewhere called 
Albigenses, from the country of Albia ; Lollards in 
England, from one Reynard Lollard, who some time 
after came into these parts, and preached boldly against 
the idolatries, superstitions, and vain conversation of 
the inhabitants of this island. They had many other 
names, as Arnoldists, Esperonists, Henricians, Siccars, 
Insabaches, Patarenians, Turlupins, Lyonists, Frati- 
celli, Hussites, Bohemians, still the same ; but finally, 
by their enemies, damnable heretics, though by the 
Protestants, The true church of Christ. To omit many 
testimonies, I will only instance bishop Usher, who in 
his discourse of the succession of the Christian church, 
defends them not only as true reformers, but makes 
the succession of the Protestant church to be mainly 
evincible from their antiquity. I shall forbear all the 
circumstances and principles they held, or in which 
he strongly defends them against the cruelty and igno- 
rance of their adversaries, particularly Rainerius, Rubis 
Capetaneis, &c.,f only what they held concerning our 
present subject of apparel and recreations, I cannot be 
so injurious to the truth, their self-denial, the good of 

* Pet. Bell, obser. I. I.e. 35, ibid. c. 40, cap. 39. 

f XII. Cap. Hist, de orig. Walden. Vignia Hist. Bibl. p. 130. Dubran. 
Hist. Bohem. 14. Thuan. in Hist, sui temp. p. 458. Mat. Paris. Hist', 
of Engl. An. 1174. Bellar. torn. 2. lib. ], cap. 26, co. 86. Ecchius,' 
com. loc. 28. Alp. 1. 6. Con. Hereit. p. 99. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



345 



others, at whose reformation I aim, and my own dis- 
course, as to omit it. Therefore I shall proceed to 
allege their faith and practice in these matters, how- 
ever esteemed but of a trifling importance, by the 
loose, wanton, and carnal-minded of this generation, 
whose feeling is lost by the enjoyment of their inordi- 
nate desires, and who think it an high state of Chris- 
tianity to be no better than the beasts that perish, 
namely, in not being excessive in Newgate and mere 
kennel-enormities. That these ancient reformers had 
another sense of these things, and that they made the 
conversation of the Gospel of a crucified Jesus, to 
intend and require another sort of life, than what is 
used by almost all those who account themselves 
members of his church, I shall show out of their own 
doctrines, as found in their most authentic histories. 

19. In their Exposition upon the Lord's Prayer, 
that part of it which speaks thus, " Give us this day 
our daily bread where, next to that spiritual bread, 
which they make it to be the duty of all to seek more 
than life, they come positively to deny the praying for 
more than is requisite for outward necessities, or that 
it is lawful to use more ; condemning all superfluity 
and excess, out of fashion, pride, or wantonness, not 
only of bread, but all outward things, which they 
judge to be thereby comprehended ; using EzekiePs 
words, " That fulness of bread, and abundance of 
idleness, was the cause of the wickedness and the 
abominations of Sodom, for which God by fire de- 
stroyed them off the earth."* Whereupon they con- 

* Jo. Paul. Per. Hist. Wald. in cat. 1. 1. c. 3. p. 37. 31. Dona nos 
le nostre pan quotidian, en. choi. Meraor. Morrel. Vign. Mem. f. 7' 
Ezek. xvi. 45. Thesaur. fed. Ap. Wuld. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

elude, with an ancient father of the primitive church, 
after this manner, " That costly apparel, superfluity in 
diet, (as three dishes, when one will serve,) play, idle- 
ness and sleep, fatten the body, nourish luxury, weaken 
the spirit, and lead the soul unto death. But a spare 
diet, labour, short sleep, plain and mean garments, 
help to purify the soul, tame the body, mortify the 
lusts of the flesh, and comfort the spirit." So severe 
were they, that in the chapter on the instruction of 
their children, they would not suffer them to converse 
with those of strange places or principles, whose con- 
versation was gaming, plays, and the like wanton re- 
creations ; but especially concerning young women, 
"A man, say they, must have a great care of his 
daughter. Hast thou daughters ? keep them within, 
to wholesome things ; see they wander not; for Dinah, 
Jacob's daughter, was corrupted by being seen of 
strangers."* They affirm the general event of such 
conversation to be no better. 

To which I shall add their judgment and practice 
concerning taverns, and public houses for treats and 
pleasures, with which the land swarms in our days. 

20. " A tavern is the fountain of sin, the school of 
the devil ; it works wonders fitting the place ; it is 
the custom of God to show his power in his church, 
and to work miracles ; that is to say, to give sight to 
the spiritually blind, to make the lame to leap, the 
dumb to sing, the deaf to hear : but the devil doth 
quite the contrary to all these in taverns, and the like 
places of pleasures. For when the drunkard goes to 
the tavern, he goes upright ; but when he comes forth, 



* Ibid. 1. 2, c. 3. Lifilli sign, naisson ali patrons carnals. de non 
esser rendus, &c. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



347 



he cannot go at all ; he has lost his sight, speech, and 
hearing too. The lectures that are read in this school 
of the devil, say these poor Waldenses and first re- 
formers, are gluttonies, oaths, perjuries, lyings, blas- 
phemies, flatteries, and divers other wicked villanies 
and pernicious effects, by which the heart is withdrawn 
farther and farther from God.* And, as the book of 
Ecclesiasticus saith, 4 The taverner shall not be freed 
from sin.' " 

But above other recreations, do but seriously ob- 
serve, of what danger and ill consequence these first 
reformers thought dancing, music, and the like pas- 
times to be, which are the greatest divertisements of 
the times, viz. 

21. " Dancing is the devil's procession, and he that 
enters into a dance, entereth into his procession ; the 
devil is the guide, the middle, and the end of the 
dance ; as many paces as a man maketh in dancing, 
so many paces doth he make to go to hell. A man 
sinneth in dancing divers ways, for all his steps are 
numbered ; in his touch, in his ornaments, in his hear- 
ing, sight, speech, and other vanities. And therefore 
we will prove, first by the Scripture, and afterwards 
by divers other reasons, how wicked a thing it is to 
dance. The first testimony that we will produce, is 
that which we read in the Gospel, where it is said, it 
pleased Herod so well, that it cost John Baptist his 
life. The second is in Exodus, when Moses coming 
near to the congregation, saw the calf, he cast the 
tables from him, and broke them at the foot of the 
mountain ; and afterwards it cost three thousand their 

* Ibid. 1. 2, c. 3. La taverna de maisons de pelisirs es fortuna de 
pecca Eschola del Diavola, &c. 



348 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

lives. Besides, the ornaments which women wear in 
their dances are as crowns for many victories, which 
the devil hath got against the children of God ; for 
the devil hath not only one sword in the dance, hut 
as many as there are beautiful and well-adorned per- 
sons in the dance ; for the words of a woman are a 
glittering sword. And therefore that place is much to 
be feared, wherein the enemy hath so many swords, 
since that only one sword of his may be justly feared. " 
Again, " The devil in this place strikes with a sharp- 
ened sword ; for the women, who make it acceptable, 
come not willingly to the dance, if they be not painted 
and adorned ; which painting and ornament is as a 
whetstone, on which the devil sharpeneth his sword. 
—They that deck and adorn their daughters, are like 
those that put dry wood to the fire, to the end it may 
bum the better : for such women kindle the fire of 
luxury in the hearts of men. As Sampson's foxes 
fired the Philistine's corn ; so these women have fire 
in their faces, and in their gestures and actions, their 
glances and wanton words, by which they consume 
the goods of men." They proceed, "The devil in 
the dance useth the strongest armour that he hath ; for 
his most powerful arms are women : which is made 
plain unto us, in that the devil made choice of the 
woman to deceive the first man : so did Balaam, that 
the children of Israel might be rejected of God. By 
a woman he made Sampson, David and Absalom to 
sin. The devil tempteth men by women three man- 
ner of ways ; that is, by the touch, by the eye, by the 
ear ; by these three means he tempteth foolish men to 
dancing, by touching their hands, beholding their 
beauty, hearing their songs and music." — Again, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



349 



c< They that dance break that promise and agreement 
they made with God in baptism, when their godfathers 
promise for them, That they shall renounce the devil 
and all his pomp : for dancing is the pomp of the devil ; 
and he that danceth maintaineth his pomp, and singeth 
his mass. For the woman that singeth in the dance, 
is the prioress, or chiefess of the devil, and those that 
answer are the clerks, and the beholders are the 
parishioners, and the music are the bells, and the fid- 
dlers the ministers of the devil. For, as when hogs 
are strayed, if the hogherd call one, all assemble 
themselves together ; so the devil causeth one woman 
to sing in the dance, or to play on some instrument, 
and presently gather all the dancers together." Again, 
" In a dance, a man breaks the Ten Commandments 
of God: as first, < Thou shalt have no other gods but 
me,' &c, for in dancing a man serves that person 
whom he most desires to serve, after whom goes his 
heart :* and therefore Jerom saith, ( Every man's God 
is that he serves and loves best, and that he loves 
best, which his thoughts wander and gad most after.' 
He sins against the second commandment, when he 
makes an idol of that he loves. Against the third ; in 
that oaths, and frivolously using God's name, are fre- 
quently amongst dancers. Against the fourth ; for 
that by dancing the sabbath day is profaned. Against 
the fifth ; for in the dance parents are many times dis- 
honoured, since thereby many bargains are made with- 
out their counsel. Against the sixth ; a man kills in 

* La Bales la profef. del Diavol. & qui intra an la Bal. &c. Sp. Aim. 
fol. 50, 51,52, 53, 54. Job. adv. 16. Ps. xxxvii. 23. Prov. xvi. 9. Jer. 
x. 23. Mark vi. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 23. Exod. xxxii. 4, 5, 6, 7. 

30 



350 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

dancing; for every one that sets about to please 
another, he kills the soul as oft as he persuades unto 
lust. Against the seventh ; for the party that danceth, 
be it male or female, committeth adultery with the 
party they lust after ; £ for he that looketh on a wo- 
man to lust after her, hath already committed adul- 
tery with her in his heart.' Against the eighth ; a 
man sins in dancing, when he withdraweth the heart 
of another from God. Against the ninth ; when in 
dancing he speaks falsely against the truth, and for 
some little honour, or secret lascivious end, denies 
what is true, or affirms what is false. Against the 
tenth ; when women affect the ornaments of others, 
and men covet the wives, daughters, and servants of 
their neighbours, which undeniably attends all such 
plays and sports." Again, " A man may prove how 
great an evil dancing is, by the multitude of sins that 
accompany those who dance, for they dance without 
measure or number : and therefore," saith Augustine, 
"the miserable dancer knows not, that as many paces 
as he makes in dancing, so many leaps he makes to 
hell.* They sin in their ornaments after a five-fold 
manner: First, by being proud thereof. Secondly, 
by inflaming the hearts of those that behold them. 
Thirdly, when they make those ashamed, who have 
not the like ornaments, giving them occasion to covet 
the like. Fourthly, by making women importunate 
in demanding the like ornaments of their husbands : 
and, fifthly, when they cannot obtain them of their 
husbands, they seek to get them elsewhere by sin. 
They sin by singing and playing on instruments ; for 
their songs bewitch the hearts of those that hear them 



* Jerom. in dec. int. oper. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



351 



with temporal delight, forgetting God ; uttering no- 
thing in their songs but lies and vanities ; and the 
very motion of the body, which is used in dancing, 
gives testimony enough of evil. Thus you see, that 
dancing is the devil's procession; and he that enters 
into a dance enters into the devil's procession. Of 
dancing, the devil is the guide, the middle, and the 
end ; and he that entereth a good and wise man into 
the dance, if it can be that such an one is either good 
or w T ise, cometh forth a corrupt and a wicked man : 
Sarah, that holy woman, was none of these."* Behold 
the apprehensions of those good old reformers, touch- 
ing those things that are so much in practice and 
reputation in these times, with such as profess their 
religion ; thus far verbatim. But I cannot leave off here 
till I have yet added the conclusion of their Catechism 
and direction, with some passages out of one of their 
pastor's letters, fit to the present occasion. 

They conclude with this direction ; namely, How 
to rule their bodies, and live in this world, as becomes 
the children of God. Not to serve the mortal desires 
of the flesh. To keep their members, that they 
be not arms of iniquity and vanity. To rule their 
outward senses. To subject the body to the soul. To 
mortify their members. To fly idleness. To observe 
a sobriety and measure in eating and drinking, in 
their words and cares of this life. To do works of 
mercy. To live a moral, or just life by faith. To 
fight against the desires. To mortify the works of 
the flesh. To give themselves to the exercise of reli- 
gion. To confer together touching the will of God. 



* August, de Civit. Dei, 



352 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

To examine diligently the conscience. To purge, and 

amend, and pacify the spirit.* 

To which I shall add the epistle of one of their 

pastors, as I find it recorded amongst other matters 

relating to those poor afflicted people. 

22. An epistle of Pastor Bartholomew Tertian, writ- 
ten to the Waldensian churches of the valley of 
Pragela, thus translated : 

" JESUS BE WITH YOU. 

" To all our faithful and well-beloved brethren in 
Christ Jesus, health and salvation be with you all, 
Amen. These are to put you in remembrance, and to 
admonish you my brethren, hereby acquitting myself 
of that duty which I owe unto you all, in the behalf of 
God, principally touching the care of your souls' sal- 
vation, according to that light of the truth which the 
most high God hath bestowed on us, that it would 
please every one of you to maintain, increase and 
nourish, to the uttermost of your power, without dimi- 
nution, those good beginnings and examples, which 
have been left unto us by our forefathers, whereof we 
are no ways worthy. For it would little profit us to 
have been renewed by the fatherly visitation, and the 
light which hath been given us of God, if we give our- 
selves to worldly carnal conversations, which are dia- 
bolical, abandoning the principle which is of God, and 
the salvation of our souls for this short and temporal 
life.f For the Lord saith, 1 What doth it profit a man 
to gain the whole world, and to lose his own soul ?' 
For it would be better for us never to have known 

* Ibid. 1. ii. Concl, p. 68. Encaren qual maniere, fidel. debian. regir° 
li ler. corps, Non servali desirier mort, &c. 
f Hist. Wald, 1. 4. c. 1 1, p. 55, 56, 57. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



353 



the way of righteousness, than having known it, to do 
the contrary. Let me therefore entreat you, by the 
love of God, that you decrease not, nor look back : 
but rather increase the charity, fear and obedience, 
which is due unto God, and to yourselves, amongst 
yourselves. Stand fast in all these good principles, 
which you have heard and understood of God by our 
means ; and remove from amongst you all vain con- 
versation, and evil surmises, troubling the peace, the 
love, the concord, and whatsoever would indispose or 
deaden your minds to the service of God, your own 
salvation, and the administration of the truth, if you 
desire that God should be merciful to you in your 
goods temporal and spiritual : For you can do nothing 
without him ; and if you desire to be heirs of his 
glory, do that which he commandeth ; ' If you would 
enter into life keep my commandments.' 

" Likewise be careful, that there be not nourished 
among you, any sports, gluttony, whoredom, dancings, 
or any lewdness, or riot, nor questions, nor deceits, 
nor usury, nor discords ; neither support nor entertain 
any persons of a wicked conversation, or that give any 
scandal or ill example ; but let charity and fidelity 
reign amongst you, and all good example ; doing one 
to another as every one desires should be done unto 
him ; for otherwise it is impossible that any should be 
saved, or can have the grace of God, or be good men 
in this world, or have glory in another. And there- 
fore, if you hope and desire to possess eternal life, to 
live in good esteem and credit, and to prosper in this 
world, in your goods temporal and spiritual, purge 
yourselves from all disorderly ways, to the end that 
God may be always w T ith you, who forsakes not those 
30* 



354 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

who trust in him. But know this for certain, that 
God heareth not, nor dwelleth with sinners, nor in the 
soul that is given to wickedness, nor in the man that 
is subject to sin. And therefore let every one cleanse 
the ways of his heart, and fly the danger, if he would 
not perish therein. I have no other thing to write at 
present, but that you would put in practice these 
things ; and the God of peace be with you all, and 
go along with us, and be present among us, in our 
sincere, humble and fervent prayers ; and that he will 
be pleased to save all those his faithful, who trust in 
Christ Jesus. 

" Entirely yours, ready to do you service in all 
things possible, according unto the will of God. 

" Bartholomew Tertian." 

23. Behold the life and doctrine, instruction and 
practice of the ancient Waldenses ! how harmless, how 
plain, how laborious, how exceeding serious, and 
heavenly in their conversation ! These were the men, 
women, aye, and children too, who, for above five 
hundred years, have valiantly, but passively, main- 
tained a cruel war, at the expense of their own inno- 
cent blood, against the unheard-of cruelties and seve- 
rities of several princes, nuncios and bishops ; but 
above all, of certain cruel inquisitors, of whom their 
historians report, that they held it was a greater evil 
to conceal an heretic, than to be guilty of perjury; 
and for a clergyman to marry a wife, than to keep a 
mistress. In short, to dissent, though never so con- 
scientiously, was worse than open immorality. It 
was against the like adversaries these poor Waldenses 
fought by sufferings throughout the nations, by pri- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



355 



sons, confiscations, banishments, wandering from hill 
to valley, from den to cave, being mocked, whipped, 
racked, thrown from rocks and towers, driven on 
mountains, and in one night hundreds perished by 
excessive frosts and snows, smothered in caves, 
starved, imprisoned, ripped up, hanged, dismembered, 
rifled, plundered, strangled, boiled, roasted, burned ; 
and whatsoever could be invented to ruin men, 
women and children.* These Waldenses, you Pro- 
testants pretend to be your ancestors ; from them you 
say you have your religion ; and often, like the Jews 
of the prophets, are you building their praises in your 
discourses : but oh ! look back, I beseech you, how 
unlike are you to these afflicted pilgrims ! What re- 
semblance is there of their life in yours ? Can you 
think they helped to purchase and preserve you a 
liberty and religion at the loss of all that was dear to 
them, that you might pass away your days and years 
in pride, wantonness and vanity ? What proportion 
bears your excess with their temperance ? your gaudi- 
ness with their plainness ? your luxury and flesh-pleas- 
ing conversations, with their simplicity and self-denial ? 
But are you not got into that spirit and nature which 
they condemned in their day ? into that carnality and 
worldly-mindedness they reproved in their persecutors ? 
nay, into a strain of persecution too, whilst you seem to 
hide all under a cloak of reformation ? How can you hope 
to confute their persecutors, whose worst part perhaps 
was their cruelty, who turn persecutors yourselves ? 

* Bern, de Gir. lord de Hail. Hist, de la. Fr. 1. 10. vesemb. Orat. in 
Wald. Beza Hist. horn. dig. virer. de ver. & falsa Rel. 1. 4, c. 13, p. 
249. Cat. Test. ve. 534. Vigin. Bib. Hist. p. 1. Vieaus. Mem. fol. 
6, 7. Mat. Par. in Hen. 3. An. 1220. Sigonius de Reg. Ital. I. 7. 



dDt) NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

What have you, besides their good words, that is like 
them ? And do you think that words will fend off the 
blows of eternal vengeance ? that a little by-rote repe- 
tition, though of never so good expressions in them- 
selves, shall serve your turn at the great day ?* No, 
from God I tell you, that whilst you live in the wan- 
tonness, pride, and luxury of the world, pleasing and 
fulfilling the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and 
the pride of life, God detests you all, and laughs you 
and your worship to scorn. Never tell me, I am too 
rash, it is the devil that says so : he has got two Scrip- 
tures by the end in these days; one, "there is none 
that doeth good;" and why? that he may persuade 
all, it is impossible to overcome him ; which is the 
reason so many are overcome : although glory is pro- 
mised to none but conquerors. The second, " That 
we must not judge, lest we be judged that is, whilst 
we are guilty of the same, or of things that are equiva- 
lent, lest we be judged. f But away with satan and 
his hypocrisy too : I know what I say, and from whom 
I speak : once more I tell you all, whether you will 
hear or forbear, that unless you forsake your pride, 
luxury, avarice, and variety of vanities, and diligently 
mind the eternal light of God in your hearts, to obey 
it, wrath will be your portion forever. Trust not your 
souls upon misapplied Scriptures. He that is a child 
of God, must be holy, for God is holy, and none are 
his sons and daughters, but those who are adopted by 
the eternal Spirit, and led thereby. It was an holy, 
plain, humble divine life, these poor suffering Chris- 
tians both professed and practised, refusing to converse 

* Sernay, c. 47. Chef. 1. 3, c. 7. 

t The devil a scripturian sometimes. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 357 

with such as lived in the superfluities and excess of 
the world ; for which, if you will believe their very 
adversaries, they were persecuted : for says Rainerius, 
a great writer against them, " They use to teach, first, 
what the disciples of Christ ought to be, and that none 
are his disciples, but they that imitate his life ; and 
that the popes, cardinals, &c, because they live in 
luxury, pride, avarice, &c, are not the successors 
of Christ; but themselves only, in that they walk 
up to his commandments; thus they win upon the 
people." 

But if none are Christians but those who imitate 
Christ, what shall become of those who call them- 
selves Christians, yet live at ease in the flesh, not re- 
garding the work of the holy cross of Christ in their 
hearts, which crucifies them who bear it to the world, 
and the world to them ? This was the true ground of 
their sufferings, and their loud cries against the impi- 
eties of the greatest ; not sparing any ranks, from the 
throne to the dunghill, as knowing their God was no 
respecter of persons.* And now, if you would follow 
them indeed, if you would be Protestants in substance, 
and learn your enemies a way worth their changing 
to, or else better words go but a little way ; if you 
w^ould obtain the heavenly inheritance, and be eter- 
nally blessed, be ye persuaded to forsake all the pride 
and the pomp of this vain world. mind the con- 
cerns of an everlasting rest! Let the just and serious 
principle of God within you be the constant guide 
and companion of your minds ; and let your whole 

* Rain. cap. de stud, pervert, alios & modo dicendi. 1. 98. Barron, 
Ecc, Annal. torn. 12, an. 1176, p. 835. Kranz. in Metrop. 1. 8, sect. 18, 
& in Sax. 1. 8, cap. 16. 



358 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

hearts be exercised thereby ; that you may experience 
an entire reformation and change of affections, through 
the power of that divine leaven, which leavens the 
whole lump, viz., body, soul, and spirit, where it is 
received : to which and its work in man, our blessed 
Lord likened the kingdom of God, which he came to 
set up in the soul. Thus, having the joys and glory 
of another world in your view, you may give the best 
diligence to make your calling and election, to the 
possession of them, sure and certain ; lest selling that 
noble inheritance for a poor mess of perishing pottage, 
you never enter into his eternal rest. And though this 
testimony may seem tedious, yet could it by no means 
be omitted. — To authorize our last reason, of convert- 
ing superfluities into the relief of distressed persons, 
although one would think it is so equal and sober, that 
it needs no other authority than its own, yet I shall 
produce two testimonies, so remarkable, that as they 
ever were esteemed truly good, so they cannot be ap- 
proved by any that refuse to do the same, without 
condemning themselves of great iniquity. O, you are 
called with an high and holy call ; as high as heaven, 
and as holy as God ; for it is he that calls us to holi- 
ness, through Christ, who sent his Son to bless us, in 
turning us from the evil of our ways ; and unless we 
are so turned, we can have no claim to the blessing 
that comes by Christ to men. 

24. It is reported of Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in 
Italy, that instead of converting the demesnes of his 
diocese to particular enrichments, he employed it all 
in the redemption of poor slaves and prisoners ; be- 
lieving it unworthy of the Christian faith, to see God's 
creation labour under the want of what he had to 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



359 



spare.* All agree this was well done, but few agree 
to do the same. 

25. But more particularly of Acacius, bishop of 
Amida, given us by Socrates Scholasticus, in this 
manner ; " When the Roman soldiers purposed in no 
wise to restore again unto the king of Persia such cap- 
tives as they had taken at the winning of Azazena, 
being about seven thousand in number, to the great 
grief of the king of Persia, and all of them ready to 
starve for food ; Acacius lamented their condition, 
and calling his clergy together, said thus unto them, 
Our God hath no need of dishes or cups, for he neither 
eateth nor drinketh ; these are not his necessaries : 
wherefore seeing the church hath many precious jewels, 
both of gold and silver, bestowed of the free will and 
liberality of the faithful, it is requisite that the captive 
soldiers should be therewith redeemed, and delivered 
out of prison and bondage ; and they, perishing with 
famine, should therewith be refreshed and relieved. 
Thus he prevailed to have them all converted into 
money : some for their immediate refreshment, some 
for their redemption, and the rest for costage or pro- 
vision, to defray the charges of their voyage. f This 
noble act had such an universal influence, that it more 
famed the Christian religion amongst the infidels, than 
all their disputes and battles : Insomuch that the king 
of Persia, an heathen, said, The Romans endeavour 
to win their adversaries both by wars and favours. 
He greatly desired to behold that man, whose religion 
taught so much charity to enemies ; in which it is re- 
ported, Theodosius, the emperor, commanded Acacius 
to gratify him." 

* Ecc. Hist. p. 5. 393. t Socrat. Scholast. I. 7. 



360 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

If the apostle Paul's expression hath any force, 
" That he is worse than an infidel, who provides not 
for his family how greatly doth this example aggra- 
vate your shame, who can behold such pity and com- 
passion expressed to strangers, nay enemies, and those 
infidels too, and be so negligent of your own family, 
for England, aye, Christendom, in a sense, if not the 
world, is no more, as not only to see their great ne- 
cessities unanswered ; but that wherewith they should 
be satisfied, converted to gratify the lust of the eye, 
the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. But how- 
ever such can please themselves, in the deceitful 
daubing of their mercenary priests, and dream they 
are members of Jesus Christ, it is eertain that things 
were otherwise in the beginning; for then all was sold 
and put into a common purse, to supply all indigen- 
cies : Not regarding earthly inheritances, farther than 
as they might in some sense be subservient to the 
great end for which they were given, namely, the good 
of the creation. Thus had the purest Christians their 
minds and thoughts taken up with better things, and 
raised with the assurance of a more excellent life and 
inheritance in the heavens, that will never pass away. 
And for any to flatter themselves with being Christians, 
whilst so much exercised in the vanities, recreations, 
and customs of the world, as at this very day we see 
they are, is to mock the great God, and abuse their 
immortal souls. The Christian life is quite another 
thing. 

And lest that any should object, " Many do great 
and seemingly good actions to raise their reputation 
only; and others only decry pleasure because they 
have not wherewithal, or know not how to take it;" 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



361 



I shall present them with the serious sayings of aged 
and dying men, and those of the greatest note and 
rank ; whose experience could not be wanting to give 
the truest account how much their honours, riches, 
pleasures and recreations conduced to their satisfac- 
tion, upon a just reckoning, as well before their ex- 
treme moments as upon their dying beds, when death, 
that hard passage into eternity, looked them in the 
face. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE SERIOUS TESTIMONIES OF DYING AS WELL AS LIVING 
MEN. 

1. Solomon. 2. Ignatius. 3. Justin Martyr. 4. Chrysostom. 5. Charles 
V. 6. Michael de Montaigne. 7. Cardinal Wolsey. 8. Sir Philip 
Sidney. 9. Secretary Walsingham. 10. Sir John Mason. 11. Sir 
Walter Raleigh. 12. H. Wotton. 13. Sir Christopher Hatton. 14. 
Lord Chancellor Bacon. 15. The great duke of Montmorency. 16. 
Henry Prince of Wales. 17. Philip III., King of Spain. 18. Count 
Gondamor. 19. Cardinal Richlieu. 20. Cardinal Mazarine. 21. 
Chancellor Oxcistern. 22. Dr. Donne. 23. Jo. Selden. 24. H. 
Grotius. 25. P. Salmasius. 26. Fran. Junius. 27. A. Rivetus. 
28. The late earl of Marlborough. 29. Sir Henry Vane. 30. Abra- 
ham Cowley. 31. Late earl of Rochester. 32. One of the family 
of Howard. 33. Princess Elizabeth of the Rhine. 34. Commis- 
sioner Whitlock. 35. A sister of the family of Penn. 36. My own 
father. 37. Anthony Lowther of Mask. 38. Seigneur du Renti. 

III. The serious apprehensions and expressions of 
several aged and dying men of fame and learning. 

1. Solomon, than whom none is believed to have 
more delighted himself in the enjoyments of the world, 
or at least better to have understood them ; after all 

31 



362 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



his experience, says ; "I said in my heart, Go to now ; 
I will prove thee with mirth ; therefore enjoy pleasure : 
And behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, 
It is mad ; and of mirth, What doth it ? I made me 
great works, builded houses, planted vineyards, made 
gardens and orchards, planted trees in them of all 
kind of fruit : I got me servants and maidens ; also 
great possessions ; I gathered me silver and gold, and 
the peculiar treasures of kings and provinces; also 
men and women singers, and the delights of the sons 
of men ; as musical instruments, and that of all sorts : 
So I was great, and increased more than all that were 
before me in Jerusalem ; and whatsoever mine eyes 
desired, I kept not from them ; I withheld not mine 
heart from any joy. Then I looked on all the works 
which my hands had wrought, and behold, all was 
vanity and vexation of spirit." The reason he gives 
for this in the eighteenth and nineteenth verses is, that 
the time of enjoying them was very short, and it was 
uncertain who should be benefitted by them when he 
was gone. Wherefore he concludes with this : " Fear 
God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole 
duty of man : For God shall bring every work into 
judgment, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." 
O that men would lay this to heart ! 

2. Ignatius, who lived within the first hundred 
years after Christ, and was torn in pieces of wild beasts 
at Rome, for his true faith in Jesus, left this amongst 
other things, behind him : " There is nothing better 
than the peace of a good conscience :" Intimating, 
there might be a peace to wicked consciences, that 
are past feeling anything to be evil, but swallowed up 
of the wickedness of the world. In his epistle to the 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. . 363 

churches at Ephesus, Magnesia, Trallis, and Rome, 
upon his martyrdom, he saith, " Now I begin to be a 
disciple ; I weigh neither visible nor invisible things, 
so that I may gain Christ."* heavenly-minded man ! 
A blessed martyr of Jesus indeed. 

3. Justin Martyr, a philosopher, who received 
Christianity five and twenty years after the death of 
Ignatius, plainly tells us, in his relation of his conver- 
sion to the Christian faith, " That the power of godli- 
ness in a plain simple Christian had such influence 
and operation on his soul, that he could not but betake 
himself to a serious and strict life :" And yet, before, 
he was a Cynic ; a strict sect. And this gave him 
joy at his martyrdom, having spent his days as a seri- 
ous teacher, and a good example. And Eusebius re- 
lates, " That though he was also a follower of Plato's 
doctrine ; yet, when he saw the Christians' piety and 
courage, he concluded, no people so temperate, less 
voluptuous, and more set on divine things :" Which 
first induced him to be a Christian.! 

4. Chrysostom, another father, so called, lays this 
down for necessary doctrine, " To sacrifice the whole 
soul and body to the Lord, is the highest service we 
can pay unto him. God promiseth mercy unto peni- 
tent sinners ; but he doth not promise them that they 
shall have so much time as to-morrow for their re- 
pentance." 

5. Charles V., emperor of Germany, king of Spain, 
and lord of the Netherlands, after three and twenty 
pitched battle-fields, six triumphs, four kingdoms con- 
quered, and eight principalities added to his domi- 

* Ignatius Epist. ad Ephes. Mag. Trail. Rom. Eus. 1. 3, c. 32. 
t Euseb. Eccl. Hist. 1. 4. c. 8. 



364 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



nions, resigned up all his pomp to other hands, and 
betook himself to his retirements ; leaving this testi- 
mony behind him, concerning the life he spent in the 
honours and pleasures of the world, and in that little 
time of his retreat from them all : " That the sincere 
study, profession, and practice of the Christian reli- 
gion, had in it such joys and sweetness, as courts were 
strangers to." 

6. Michael de Montaigne, a lord of France, 
famous with men of letters for his book of Essays, 
gives these instrutcions to others, and this character 
of himself, viz. : " Amidst our banquets, feasts, and 
pleasures, let us ever have the restraint or object of 
death before us, that is, the remembrance of our con- 
dition : And let not pleasure so much mislead or trans- 
port us, as to neglect or forget how many ways our 
joys or our feastings, be subject unto death, and by 
how many holdfasts she threateneth us and you. So 
did the Egyptians, who in the midst of their banquet- 
ings, and in their greatest cheer, caused the anatomy 
of a dead man to be brought before them, as a memo- 
randum and warning to their guests. I am now, by 
means of the mercy of God, in such a taking, that 
without regret, or grieving at any worldly matter, I 
am prepared to dislode, whensoever he shall please 
to call me. I am everywhere free : My farewell is 
soon taken of all my friends, except of myself : No 
man ever prepared himself to quit the world more 
simply and fully, or did more generally lay aside 
all thoughts of it, than I am assured I shall do. 
All the glory I pretend to in my life, is, that I 
have lived quietly : Let us not propose so fleeting 
and so wavering an end unto ourselves, as the 
world's glory : Let us constantly follow truth : And 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 365 

let the vulgar approbation follow us that way, if it 
please. I care not so much what I am with others, as 
I respect what I am in myself: I will be rich in my- 
self, and not by borrowing. Strangers see but exter- 
nal appearances and events : Every man can set a 
good face upon the matter, when within he is full of 
care, grief and infirmities : They see not my heart, 
when they look upon my outward countenance. We 
are nought but ceremony ; ceremony doth transport 
us, and we leave the substance of things : We hold 
fast by the boughs, and leave the trunk or body, the 
substance of things, behind us." 

7. Cardinal Wolse^, the most absolute and 
wealthy minister of state this kingdom ever had, who 
in his time seemed to govern Europe as well as Eng- 
land, when come to the period of his life, left the 
world with this close reflection upon himself; " Had 
I been as diligent to serve my God, as I was to please 
my king, he would not have left me now in my grey 
hairs. 1 ' A dismal reflection for all worldly-minded 
men : but those more especially who have the power 
and means of doing more than ordinary good in the 
world, and do it not ; which seems to have been the 
case and reflection of this great man. 

8. Sir Philip Sidney, a subject indeed of Eng- 
land ; but, they say, chosen king of Poland, whom 
Queen Elizabeth called her Philip, and the Prince of 
Orange, his master ; whose friendship the lord Brooks 
was so proud of, that he would have it part of his epi- 
taph, " Here lies Sir Philip Sidney's friend :" Whose 
death was lamented in verse by the kings of France 
and Scotland and the two universities of England ; 
repented so much at his death, of that witty vanity of 

31* 



366 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

his life, his Arcadia, that to prevent the unlawful 
kindling of heats in others, he would have committed 
it to the flames himself ; and left this farewell amongst 
his friends, " Love my memory ; cherish my friends ; 
their faith to me may assure you that they are honest : 
But above all, govern your will and affections by the 
will and word of your Creator. In me behold the end 
of this world, and all its vanities." And indeed he 
was not much out in saying, in him was to be seen 
the end of all natural parts, acquired learning and 
civil accomplishments. His farewell seems spoken 
without terror, with a clear sense, and an equal judg- 
ment. 

9. Secretary Walsingham, an extraordinary man in 
Queen Elizabeth's time ; towards the conclusion of 
his days, in a letter to his fellow-secretary, Burleigh, 
then lord treasurer of England, writes thus : " We 
have lived enough to our country, our fortunes, our 
sovereign : It is high time we begin to live to our- 
selves, and to our God." Which giving occasion for 
some court-droll to visit, and try to divert him ; " Ah ! 
saith he, while we laugh, all things are serious around 
us ; God is serious, when he preserveth us, and hath 
patience towards us ; Christ is serious, when he dieth 
for us ; the Holy Ghost is serious, when he striveth 
with us ; the whole creation is serious, in serving God 
and us ; they are serious in hell and in heaven : And 
shall a man who hath one foot in his grave, jest and 
laugh ?" that our statement would weigh the con- 
viction, advice, and conclusion of this great man ; the 
greatest man, perhaps, who has borne that character 
in our nation. For true it is, that none can be serious 
too soon, because none can be good too soon. Away 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



367 



then with all foolish talking and jesting, and let peo- 
ple mind more profitable things ! 

10. John Mason, knight, who had been privy- 
cousellor to four princes, and spent much time in the 
preferments and pleasures of the world, retired with 
these pathetical and regretful sayings : " After so 
many years' experience, seriousness is the greatest 
wisdom ; temperance the best physic ; a good con- 
science the best estate. And were I to live again, I 
would change the court for one hour's enjoyment of 
God in the chapel. All things else forsake me, besides 
my God, my duty, and my prayers." 

11. Sir Walter Raleigh, is an eminent instance, 
being as extraordinary a man as our nation hath pro- 
duced. In his person, well descended ; of health, 
strength, and masculine beauty : in understanding, 
quick: in judgment, sound, learned and wise, valiant 
and skilful : an historian, a philosopher, a general, 
a statesman. After a long life, full of experience, he 
drops these excellent sayings a little before his death, 
to his son, to his wife, and to the world, viz. : " Ex- 
ceed not in the humour of rags and bravery ; for these 
will soon wear out of fashion : And no man is esteem- 
ed for gay garments, but by fools and women. On 
the other side, seek not riches basely, nor attain them 
by evil means : Destroy no man for his wealth, nor 
take anything from the poor ; for the cry thereof will 
pierce the heavens : And it is most detestable before 
God, and most dishonourable before worthy men, to 
wrest anything from the needy and labouring soul : 
God will never prosper thee if thou offendest therein ; 
but use thy poor neighbours and tenants well." A 
most worthy saying! But he adds, " Have compas- 



368 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

sion on the poor and afflicted, and God will bless thee 
for it : Make not the hungry sorrowful ; for if he curse 
thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be 
heard of him that made him. Now, for the world, 
dear child, I know it too well, to persuade thee to 
dive into the practices of it : Rather stand upon thy 
guard against all those that tempt thee to it, or may 
practise upon thee ; whether in thy conscience, thy 
reputation, or thy estate : Resolve, that no man is 
wise or safe, but he that is honest. Serve God ; let 
him be the author of all thy actions : Commend all 
thy endeavours to him > that must either wither or pros- 
per them : Please him with prayer ; lest if he frown, 
he confound all thy fortune and labour, like the drops 
of rain upon the sandy ground. Let my experienced 
advice and fatherly instruction, sink deep into thy 
heart : So God direct thee in all thy ways and fill thy 
heart with his grace." 

Sir Walter Raleigh's Letter to his Wife, after his Con- 
demnation. 

" You shall receive, my dear wife, my last words, 
in these my last lines. My love I send to you, that 
you may keep it when I am dead ; and my counsel, 
that you may remember it when I am no more. I 
would not with my will present you sorrows, dear 
Bess ; let them goto the grave with me, and be buried 
in the dust : and seeing it is not the will of God that 
I shall see you any more, bear my destruction patient- 
ly ; and with an heart like yourself. First, I send 
you all the thanks which my heart can conceive, or my 
words express, for your many travails and cares for 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



369 



me : which, though they have not taken effect, as you 
wished, yet my debt to you is not the less ; but pay 
it I never shall in this world. Secondly, I beseech 
you, for the love you bear me living, that you do not 
hide yourself many days ; but by your travails seek to 
help my miserable fortunes, and the right of your poor 
child ; your mourning cannot avail me, who am but 
dust. Thirdly, you shall understand, that my lands 
were conveyed (bona fide) to my child ; the writings 
were drawn at midsummer was a twelve-month, as 
divers can witness ; and I trust my blood will quench 
their malice, who desired my slaughter, that they will 
not seek to kill you and yours with extreme poverty. 
To what friend to direct you, I know not ; for all mine 
have left me in the true time of trial. Most sorry am 
I, that being surprised by death, I can leave thee no 
better estate ; God hath prevented all my determina- 
tions, that great God which worketh all in all. If you 
can live free from want, care for no more ; for the rest 
is but vanity. Love God and begin betimes ; in him 
shall you find true, everlasting and endless comfort : 
When you have travailed and wearied yourself with 
all sorts of worldly cogitations, you shall sit down by 
sorrow in the end. Teach your son also to serve and 
fear God, whilst he is young, that the fear of God may 
grow up in him ; then will God be an husband to you, 
and a father to him ; an husband and a father that can 
never be taken from you. Dear wife, I beseech you, 
for my soul's sake, pay all poor men. When I am 
dead, no doubt you will be much sought unto ; for the 
world thinks I was very rich : have a care of the fair 
pretences of men ; for no greater misery can befal you 
in this life, than to become a prey unto the world, 



370 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



and after to be despised. As for me, I am no more 
yours, nor you mine : Death hath cut us asunder ; and 
God hath divided me from the world, and you from 
me. Remember your poor child for his father's sake, 
who loved you in his happiest estate. I sued for my 
life, but God knows it was for you and yours that I 
desired it : For know it, my dear wife, your child is 
the child of a true man, who in his own respect de- 
spiseth death, and his misshapen and ugly forms. I 
cannot write much ; God knows how hardly I steal 
this time, when all are asleep : And it is also time for 
me to separate my thoughts from the world. Beg my 
dead body, which living was denied you ; and either 
lay it in Sherburne, or in Exeter Church, by my father 
and mother. I can say no more ; time and death call 
me away. The everlasting God Almighty, who is 
goodness itself, the true light and life, keep you and 
yours, and have mercy upon me, and forgive my per- 
secutors, and false accusers ; and send us to meet in 
his glorious kingdom. My dear wife, farewell ; bless 
my boy, pray for me ; and let my true God hold you 
both in his arms. 

" Yours that was, but not now my own, 

" Walter Raleigh." 

Behold wisdom, resolution, nature and grace ! how 
strong in argument, wise in counsel, firm, affectionate 
and devout. that your heroes and politicians would 
make him their example in his death, as well as mag- 
nify the great actions of his life. I doubt not, had he 
been to live over his days again, with his experience, 
he had made less noise, and yet done more good to 
the world and himself. It is a sad thing to consider, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



371 



that men hardly come to know themselves, or the 
world, till they are ready to leave it. 

12. Henry Wotton, knight, thought it " The 
greatest happiness in this life, to be at leisure to be, 
and to do, good ;" as in his latter end he was wont to 
say, when he reflected on past times, though a man 
esteemed sober and learned, " How much time have 
I to repent of, and how little to do it in !" 

13. Sir Christopher Hatton, a little before his 
death, advised his relations to be serious in the search 
after " the will of God in the holy word for said 
he, it is deservedly accounted a piece of excellent 
knowledge to understand the law of the land, and the 
customs of a man's country ; how much more to know 
the statutes of heaven, and the laws of eternity ; those 
immutable and eternal laws of justice and righteous- 
ness ! To know the will and pleasure of the Great 
Monarch and Universal King of the world, " I have 
seen an end of all perfection ; but thy commandments, 
O God, are exceeding broad." — Whatever other 
knowledge a man may be endued withal, could he, by 
a vast and imperious mind, and an heart as large as 
the sand upon the sea shore, command all the know- 
ledge of art and nature, of words and things ; could 
he attain a mastery in all languages, and sound the 
depth of all arts and sciences ; could he discourse of 
the interest of all states, the intrigues of all courts, the 
reason of all civil laws and constitutions, and give an 
account of all histories ; " and yet not know the Au- 
thor of his being, and the preserver of his life, his 
sovereign and his judge ; his surest refuge in trouble ; 
his best friend, or worst enemy ; the support of his 
life, and the hope of his death ; his future happiness, 



372 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



and his portion forever ; he doth but with a great deal 
of wisdom go down to hell." 

14. Francis Bacon, lord high chancellor of Eng- 
land, some time before his death, confessed, " That 
to be religious, was to live strictly and severely : For 
if the opinion of another world be false, yet the sweet- 
est life in this world is piety, virtue, and honesty : If 
it be true, there be none so wretched and miserable, 
as loose, carnal, profane persons." 

15. The great duke of Montmorency, colleague to 
the duke of Orleans, brother to the French king Lewis 
the Thirteenth, in the war agitated by them against 
the ministry of Cardinal Richlieu, being taken and 
convicted at Lyons, a little before his beheading, look- 
ing upon himself, then very richly attired ; " Ah ! 
says he, this becomes not a servant of the crucified 
Jesus ? What do I with these vanities about me ? He 
was poor, despised, and naked, when he went to the 
Cross to die for my sins:" And immediately he 
stript himself of all his finery, and put on more grave 
and modest garments. A serious reflection, at a time 
when he best knew what was best. 

16. Henry, prince of Wales, eldest son to King 
James the First, of whom others say many excellent 
things, hear what accounts he gives of himself at last : 
A person whom he loved, and who had been the 
companion of his diversions, being with him in his 
sickness, and asking him, How he did ? was, amongst 
many other sober expressions, answered thus, " Ah 
Tom ! I in vain wish for that time I lost with thee, and 
others, in vain recreations." So vain were recrea- 
tions, and so precious was time to a prince, and no 
ordinary one either, upon a dying-bed. But why 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



373 



wished he with others, for more time, but that it 
might be better employed ? Thus hath the Just and 
Holy Spirit of God in men, throughout all generations, 
convinced some of their vanity and folly upon their 
dying beds, who before were too much taken up to 
mind either a dying bed, or a vast eternity ; but when 
their days were almost numbered, when mortality 
hastened on them, when the revelation of the righteous 
judgment was at the door, and all their worldly re- 
creations and enjoyments must be parted with, and 
that eye forever shut, and flesh turned to worms' 
meat, which took delight therein ; then, oh, then it 
was, the Holy witness had room to plead with con- 
science : Then nothing but a holy, strict and severe 
life, was valuable ; then " All the world for a little 
time," who before had given all their time for a little 
of a vain world. But if so short a representation of 
the inconsistency of the vanities of the world with the 
Christian life could make so deep an impression ; oh ! 
to what a noble stature, and large proportion, had they 
been grown in all pious and heavenly knowledge, and 
how much greater had their rewards been, if they 
contentedly had forgone those perishing entertain- 
tainments of the world betimes, and given the exer- 
cise of their minds to the tuition and guidance of that 
universal Grace, and holy Spirit of God, which had so 
long shined in darkness, uncomprehended of it, and 
was at last but just perceived to give a sight of what 
they had been doing all their days. 

17. Philip III. king of Spain, seriously reflecting 
upon the life he had led in the world, cried out upon 
his death bed, " Ah, how happy were I, had I spent 
these twenty-three years that I have held my kingdom 5 
32 



374 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



in a retirement ;" saying to his confessor, " My con- 
cern is for my soul, not my body ; I lay all that God 
has given me, my dominion, power, and my life, at 
the feet of Jesus Christ, my Saviour." Would that 
kings might live as well as die so ! 

18. Count Gondamor, ambassador in England for 
that very king, esteemed the ablest man of his time, 
took great freedom as to his religion in his politics, 
serving his ends by those ways that would best accom- 
plish them. Towards his latter end, he grew very 
thoughtful of his past life ; and after all his negotia- 
tions and successes in business, said to one of his 
friends, " I fear nothing in the world more than sin.'" 
Often professing, " He had rather endure hell than 
sin." So clear and strong were his convictions, and 
so exceeding sinful did sin appear -to him, upon a 
serious consideration of his ways. 

19. Cardinal Richlieu, after having been first min- 
ister of state in Europe, as well as of France, con- 
fessed to old Peter du Moulin, the famous Protestant 
of that country, " That being forced upon many irre- 
gularities by what they call Reasons of State, he could 
not tell how to satisfy his conscience for several things ; 
and therefore had many temptations to doubt and dis- 
believe a God, another world, and the immortality of 
the soul, and thereby to relieve his mind from any 
disquiet, but in vain ; so strong, he said, was the 
notion of God in his soul, so clear the impression of 
him upon the frame of the world, so unanimous the 
consent of mankind, so powerful the convictions of 
his conscience, that he could not but < Taste the power 
of the world to come, and so live as one that must 
die, and so die as one that must live forever.' And 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



375 



being asked one day, £ Why he was so sad ?' answer- 
ed, 4 The soul is a serious thing ; it must be either sad 
here for a moment, or be sad forever.' " 

20. Cardinal Mazarine, reputed the most cunning 
statesman of his time, gave great proofs of it in the 
successes of the French crown under his ministry : 
his aim was the grandeur of the world, to which he 
made all other considerations submit. But, poor man ! 
he was of another mind a little before his death : for 
being awakened by the smart lashes of conscience, 
which represented his soul's condition to be very dis- 
mal, with astonishment and tears he cried out, " O 
my poor soul, what will become of thee ! Whither wilt 
thou go ?" And one day spoke thus to the queen 
mother of France, " Madam, your favours have un- 
done me : were I to live again, I would be a capu- 
chin, rather than a courtier." 

21. Count Oxcistern, chancellor of Sweden, was 
a person of the first quality, station and ability in his 
own country : and whose share and success, not only 
in the chief ministry of affairs in that kingdom, but in 
the greatest negotiations of Europe, during his time, 
made him no less considerable abroad. After all his 
knowledge and honour, being visited in his retreat 
from public business by commissioner Whitlock, am- 
bassador to Queen Christina, in the conclusion of their 
discourse, he said to the ambassador, " I have seen 
much, and enjoyed much of this world ; but I never 
knew how to live till now. I thank my good God that 
has given me time to know Him, and to know myself. 
All the comfort I have, and all the comfort I take, and 
which is more than the whole world can give, is feel- 
ing the good Spirit of God in my heart, and reading 



376 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 



in this good book, holding up the bible, that came 
from it. You are now in the prime of your age and 
vigour, and in great favour and business ; but this will 
all leave you, and you will one day better understand 
and relish what I say to you ; and then you will find 
that there is more wisdom, truth, comfort and pleasure, 
in retiring and turning your heart from the world, to 
the good Spirit of God, and in reading the bible, than 
in all the courts and favours of princes." This I had, 
as near as I am able to remember, from the ambassa- 
dor's own mouth more than once. A very edifying 
history, when we consider from whom it came ; one 
of the greatest and wisest men of his age ; while his 
understanding was as sound and vigorous, as his ex- 
perience and knowledge were great. 

22. Dr. Donne, a great poet, taking his farewell of 
his friends, on his dying-bed, left this saying behind 
him, for them to measure their fancies and their actions 
by : "I repent of all my life, but that part of it which 
I spent in communion with God, and doing good." 

23. Selden, one of the greatest scholars and anti- 
quaries of his time ; who had taken a diligent survey 
of what knowledge was considerable amongst the 
Jews, heathens and Christians ; at last professeth this, 
toward the end of his days, in his conference with 
bishop Usher, " That notwithstanding he had been so 
laborious in his inquiries, curious in his collections, 
and had manuscripts upon all ancient subjects; yet 
he could rest his soul on none, save the Scriptures 
and above all, that passage lay most remarkable upon 
his spirit, Titus, ii. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. " For the 
grace of God, that bringeth salvation, hath appeared 
unto all men ; teaching us, that denying ungodliness 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



377 



and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, 
and godly in this present world ; looking for that 
blessed hope, and glorious appearing of the great God, 
and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for 
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works : These things speak and exhort, and rebuke 
with all authority." And indeed it is one of the most 
comprehensive passages in Scripture : for it comprises 
the end, means and recompense of Christianity. 

24. Hugo Grotius, than whom these latter ages 
think they have not had a man of more universal 
knowledge, a light, say the statesmen ; a light, say 
the churchmen too, witness his "Annals," and his 
book, " De Jure Belli et Pacis ;" also his " Christian 
Religion, and Elaborate Commentaries." He winds 
up his life and choice in this remarkable saying, which 
should abate the edge of other men's inordinate de- 
sires after what they falsely call learning; namely, "I 
would give all my learning and honour for the plain 
integrity of Jean Ulrick," who was a religious poor 
man, that spent eight hours of his time in prayer, 
eight in labour, and but eight in meals, sleep, and 
other necessaries. To one who admired his great 
industry, he returned this by way of complaint : "Ah ! 
I have consumed my life in laboriously doing nothing." 
And to another, that inquired of his wisdom and learn- 
ing what course to take? he solemnly answered, "Be 
serious." Such was the sense he had, how much a 
serious life excelled, and was of force, towards a dying- 
hour. 

25. To whom I join Salmasius, that famous French 
scholar, who, after his many volumes of learning, by 

32** 



378 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

which he had acquired great veneration among men of 
books, confessed he had so far mistaken true learning, 
and that in which solid happiness consists, that he 
exclaimed thus against himself; " Oh ! I have lost a 
world of time ! Time, that most precious thing in the 
world ! Whereof, had I but one year more, it should 
be spent in David's Psalms and Paul's Epistles. Oh, 
said he, to those about him, Mind the world less, and 
God more. The fear of the Lord is wisdom ; and to 
depart from evil, that is understanding." 

26. Francis Junius, an ingenious person, who has 
written his own life ; as he was reading " Tully de 
Legibus," fell into a disbelief of the Divine Provi- 
dence, till in a tumult in Lyons the Lord wonderfully 
delivered him from imminent death ; so that he was 
forced to acknowledge a Divine hand therein. His 
father hearing the dangerous ways his son was misled 
into, sent for him home, where he carefully and piously 
instructed him, and caused him to read over the New 
Testament; of which he himself writes thus : " When 
I opened the New Testament, I first lighted upon 
John's first chapter, < In the beginning was the Word, 
&c.' I read part of the chapter, and was suddenly 
convinced, that the Divinity of the argument, and the 
majesty and authority of the writing, did exceedingly 
excel all eloquence of human writings: My body 
trembled, my mind was astonished, and I was so 
affected all that day, that I knew not where and what 
I was. Thou wast mindful of me, O my God, ac- 
cording to the multitude of thy mercies, and calledst 
home thy lost sheep into the fold." And as Justin 
Martyr of old, so he of late professed, "That the 
power of godliness in a plain simple Christian wrought 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



379 



so upon him, that he could not but take up a strict and 
serious life." 

27. A. Rivetus, a man of learning, and much re- 
verenced in the Dutch nation, after a long life of study, 
in search of divine knowledge, upon his death-bed, 
being discoursed by his friend of heavenly things, 
brake forth in this manner ; " God has learned me 
more of himself in ten days sickness, than I could get 
by all my labour and studies." So near a way, so 
short a cut it is, to the knowledge of God, when peo- 
ple come into the right way, which is, To turn their 
minds and hearts to the voice of God, and learn of 
him, who is a spirit, to be taught of him, and led by 
him : " For in righteousness such shall be established, 
and great shall be their peace." 

28. A Letter from James, Earl of Marlborough, a 
little before his death, in battle at sea, on the coast 
of Holland. 

" I believe the goodness of your nature, and the 
friendship you have always borne me, will receive 
with kindness the last office of your friend. I am in 
health enough of body, and through the mercy of God 
in Jesus Christ, well disposed in mind. This I pre- 
mise, that you may be satisfied that what I write pro- 
ceeds not from any fantastic terror of mind, but from 
a sober resolution of what concerns myself, and earnest 
desire to do you more good after my death, than my 
example (God of his mercy pardon the badness of it) 
in my lifetime may do you harm. I will not speak 
aught of the vanity of this world ; your own age and 
experience will save that labour : but there is a certain 
thing that goeth up and down the world called religion , 
dressed and pretended fantastically, and to purposes 



380 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



bad enough ; which yet, by such evil dealing, loseth 
not its being. The great good God hath not left it 
without a witness, more or less, sooner or later, in 
every man's bosom, to direct us in the pursuit of it ; 
and for avoiding of those inextricable disquisitions 
and entanglements our own frail reasons would per- 
plex us withal. God in his infinite mercy hath given 
us his Holy Word ; in which, as there are many things 
hard to be understood, so there is enough plain and 
easy to quiet our minds, and direct us concerning our 
future being. I confess to God and you, I have been 
a great neglecter, and I fear despiser of it ; God of 
his infinite mercy pardon me the dreadful fault. But 
when I retired myself from the noise and deceitful 
vanity of the world, I found no true comfort in any 
other resolution, than what I had from thence. I com- 
mend, from the bottom of my heart, the same to your, 
I hope, happy use. Dear Hugh, let us be more gene- 
rous than to believe we die as the beasts that perish ; 
but with a Christian, manly, brave resolution, look to 
what is eternal. I will not trouble you farther. The 
only great and holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
direct you to an happy end of your life, and send us a 
joyful resurrection. 

" So prays your true friend, 

" Marlborough." 
29. The late Sir Henry Vane must be too fresh in 
memory to need a character ; but it is certain his parts 
were of the first order, and superior to the generality 
of men ; yet he would often say, " He owed them to 
religion." In his youth he was much addicted to 
company, and promised little to business ; but in read- 
ing a book called " The Signs of a Godly Man," and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



381 



being convicted in himself that they were just, but 
that he had no share in any one of them, he fell into 
such extreme anguish and horror, that for some days 
and nights he took little food or rest ; which at once 
dissolved his old friendships, and made those impres- 
sions and resolutions to religion, which neither uni- 
versity, courts, princes, nor parents, nor any losses or 
disappointments, that threatened his new course of 
life, could weaken or alter. And though this laid him 
under some disadvantages for a time, his great integ- 
rity and abilities quickly broke through that obscurity ; 
so that those of very differing sentiments did not only 
admire him, but very often desired him to accept the 
most eminent negotiations of his country ; which he 
served according to his own principles, with great 
success, and a remarkable self-denial. This great 
man's maxim was, " Religion was the best master, and 
the best friend ; for it made men wise, and would 
never leave them who never left it ;" which he found 
true in himself : For as it made him wiser than those 
who had been his teachers, so it made him firmer than 
any hero, having something more than nature to sup- 
port him, which was the judgment as well of foreigners 
as others, who had the curiosity to see him die ; making 
good some meditations of his own, viz., " The day of 
death is the judge of all our other days ; the very trial 
and touchstone of the actions of our life. It is the 
end that crowns the work, and a good death honoureth 
a man's whole life. The fading corruption and loss 
of this life, is the passage into a better. Death is no 
less essential to us, than to live or to be born. In 
flying death, thou fliest thyself. It is no small reproach 
to a Christian, whose faith is in immortality, and the 



382 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



blessedness of another life, to fear death much, which 
is the necessary passage thereunto." 

30. Abraham Cowley, to name whom, is enough 
with the men of wit of our time and nation, speaks 
not less in favour of the temperance and solitude so 
much laboured for in the preceding discourse. Yet 
that his judgment may have the more force with the 
reader, it may be fit that I should say, he was a man 
of a sweet and singular wit, great learning and an 
even judgment ; who had known what cities, univer- 
sities and courts could afford ; and that not only at 
home, but in divers nations abroad. Wearied with 
the world, he broke through all the entanglements of 
it ; and, which was hardest, great friendship and a 
perpetual praise ; and retired to a solitary cottage near 
Barn-Elms, where his garden was his pleasure, and 
he his own gardener. He gives us this following 
doctrine of retirement, which may serve for an account 
how well he was pleased in his change. " The first 
work, saith he, that a man must do to make himself 
capable of the good of solitude, is the very eradication 
of all lusts ; for how is it possible for a man to enjoy 
himself, while his affections are tied to things without 
himself. The first minister of state hath not so much 
business in public, as a wise man hath in private. If 
the one have little leisure to be alone, the other hath 
less leisure to be in company ; the one hath but part 
of the affairs of one nation, the other all the works of 
God and nature under his consideration. There is no 
saying shocks me so much, as that which I hear very 
often, ' That a man doth not know how to pass his 
time.' It would have been but ill spoken of Methuse- 
lah, in the nine hundred sixty-ninth year of his life. But 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 383 

that is not to deceive the world, but to deceive our- 
selves, as Quintilian saith, Vitam fallere, To draw on 
still, and amuse and deceive our life, till it be ad- 
vanced insensibly to the fatal period, and fall into 
that pit which nature hath prepared for it. The mean- 
ing of all this is no more, than that most vulgar say- 
ing, 6 Bene qui latuit, bene vixit ;•' He hath lived well, 
who hath lain well hidden. "Which, if it be a truth, 
the world is sufficiently deceived : For my part, I 
think it is ; and that the pleasantest condition in life 
is in incognito. What a brave privilege is it, to be 
free from all contentions, from all envying, or being 
envied, from receiving and from paying all kind of 
ceremonies. We are here among the vast and noble 
scenes of nature ; we are there among the pitiful shifts 
of policy ; we walk here in the light and open ways 
of the divine bounty ; we grope there in the dark and 
confused labyrinths of human malice ; our senses are 
here feasted with the clear and genuine taste of their 
objects ; which are all sophisticated there ; and, for 
the most part, overwhelmed with their contraries. 
Here pleasure looks, methinks, like a beautiful, con- 
stant and modest wife ; it is there an impudent, fickle 
and painted harlot. Here is harmless and cheap 
plenty ; there, guilty and expensive luxury. The an- 
tiquity of this art is certainly not to be contested by 
any other. The three first men in the world were a 
gardener, a ploughman and a grazier : and if any man 
object, that the second of these was a murderer; I 
desire he would consider, that as soon as he was so, 
he quitted our profession, and turned builder. It is 
for this reason, I suppose, that the son of Sirach for- 
bids us to hate husbandry ; because, saith he, the Most 



384 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



High hath created it. We were all born to this art, 
and taught by nature to nourish our bodies by the 
same earth out of which they were made, and to which 
they must return, and pay at last for their sustenance. 
Behold the original and primitive nobility of all those 
great persons, who are too proud now not only to till 
the ground, but almost to tread upon it. We may talk 
what we please of lilies and lions rampant, and spread 
eagles in fields d'or, or d'argent ; but if heraldry were 
guided by reason, a plough in a field arable would be 
the most noble and ancient arms." 

Blest be the man, and blest is he, whome'er, 

Plac'd far out of the roads of hope or fear, 

A little field, a little garden, feeds; 

The field gives all that frugal nature needs : 

The wealthy garden lib'rally bestows 

All he can ask, when she luxurious grows. 

The specious inconveniences that wait 

Upon a life of business and of state, 

He sees; nor doth the sight disturb his rest, 

By fools desir'd, by wicked men possest. 

Ah wretched, and too solitary, he 

Who loves not his own company : 

He'll feel the weight oft many a day, 

Unless he call in sin or vanity 

To help to bear'l away. 

Out of Martial he gives us this following epigram, 
which he makes his by translation and choice, to tell 
his own solitude : I place it here as his. 

Would you be free ? 'Tis your chief wish you say : 

Come on ; I'll show thee, friend, the certain way: 

If to no feasts abroad thou lov'st to go, 

Whilst bounteous God doth bread at home bestow: 

If thou the goodness of thy clothes dost prize 

By thy own use, and not by others' eyes; 

If only safe from weathers, thou canst dwell 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



385 



In a small house, but a convenient shell ; 
If thou without a sigh or golden wish 
Canst look upon thy beechen bowl, or dish ; 
If in thy mind such power and greatness be, 
The Persian king's a slave compar'd with thee. 

Whilst this hard truth I teach, methinks I see 
The monster, London, laugh at me ; 

I should at thee, too, foolish city, 
If it were fit to laugh at misery ; 

But thy estate I pity. 
Let but thy wicked men from out thee go, 
And all the fools that crowd thee so ; 

Even thou who dost thy millions boast, 
A village less than Islington wilt grow ; 

A solitude almost. 

I shall conclude him with this prayer of his own. 

For the few hours of life allotted me, 

Give me, great God, but bread and liberty ; 

I'll beg no more; if more thou'rt pleas' d to give, 

I'll thankfully that overplus receive. 

If beyond this no more be freely sent, 

I'll thank for this, and go away content. 

Here ends the wit, the praise, the learning, the 
city, the court, with Abraham Cowley, that once knew 
and had them all. 

31. The late earl of Rochester was inferior to no- 
body in wit, and hardly anybody ever used it worse, 
if we believe him against himself, in his dying reflec- 
tions ; an account of which I have had from some who 
visited him in his sickness, besides that larger one 
made public by the present bishop of Salisbury. It 
was then that he came to think there was a God, for 
he felt his lashes on his conscience ; and that there 
was such a thing as virtue, and a reward for it. Chris- 
tianity was no longer a worldly or absurd design ; but 
Christ a Saviour, and a most merciful one ; and his 
33 



386 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

doctrines plain, just and reasonable, and the true way 
to felicity here and hereafter — admiring and adoring 
that mercy to him, which he had treated with so much 
infidelity and obstinate contempt — wishing only for 
more life to confute his past one, and in some measure 
to repair the injuries he had done to religion by it-— 
begging forgiveness for Christ's sake, though he 
thought himself the most unworthy of it for his own. 
Thus died that witty lord Rochester ; and this retreat 
he made from the world he had so great a name in. 
May the loose wits of the times, as he desired, take 
warning by him, and not leave their repentance to a 
dying-bed. 

32. A noble young man of the family of Howard, 
having too much yielded to the temptations of youth, 
when upon his sick-bed, which proved his dying-bed, 
fell under the power and agony of great convictions ? 
mightily bewailing himself in the remembrance of his 
former extravagancies : crying strongly to God to for- 
give him, abhorring his former course, and promising 
amendment, if God renewed life to him. However 
he was willing to die, having tasted of the love and 
forgiveness of God ; warning his acquaintance and 
kindred who came to see him, to fear God and forsake 
the pleasures and vanity of this world ; and so wil- 
lingly yielded his soul from the troubles of time, and 
frailties of mortality. 

33. The late princess Elizabeth of the Rhine, of 
right claims a memorial in this discourse ; her virtue 
giving greater lustre to her name than her quality, 
which yet was of the greatest in the German empire. 
She chose a single life, as being most free of care, 
and best suited to the study and meditation she was 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 387 

always inclined to ; and the chief diversion she took, 
next the air, was in some such plain and housewifely 
entertainment, as knitting, &c. She had a small ter- 
ritory, which she governed so well, that she showed 
herself fit for a greater. She would constantly, every 
last-day in the week, sit in judgment, and hear and 
determine causes herself ; where her patience, justice 
and mercy were admirable ; frequently remitting her for- 
feitures, where the party was poor, or otherwise meri- 
torious. And, which was excellent, though unusual, 
she would temper her discourses with religion, and 
draw concerned parties to submission and agreement ; 
exercising not so much the rigour of her power, as the 
force of her persuasion. Her meekness and humility 
appeared to me extraordinary. She never considered 
the quality, but the merit of the people she entertain- 
ed. Did she hear of " a retired man, hid from the 
world, and seeking after the knowledge of a better," 
she was sure to set him down in the catalogue of her 
charity, if he wanted it. I have casually seen, I be- 
lieve, fifty tokens sealed and superscribed to the seve- 
ral poor subjects of her bounty, whose distances 
would not suffer them to know one another ; though 
they knew her, whom yet some of them had never 
seen. Thus, though she kept " no sumptuous table 
in her own court, she spread the tables of the poor in 
their solitary cells ; breaking bread to virtuous pil- 
grims, according to their want, and her ability ; ab- 
stemious in herself, and in apparel void of all vain 
ornaments." 

I must needs say, her mind had a noble prospect. 
Her eye was to a better and more lasting inheritance 
than can be found below ; which made her often de- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

spise the greatness of courts, and learning of the 
schools, of which she was an extraordinary judge. 
Being once at Hamburgh, a religious person, whom 
she went to see for religion's sake, telling her " It 
was too great an honour for him, that he should have 
a visitant of her quality come under his roof, who was 
allied to so many great kings and princes of this 
world :" she humbly answered, " If they were godly, 
as well as great, it would be an honour indeed ; but 
if you knew what that greatness was, as well as I, 
you would value less that honour." Being in some 
agony of spirit, after a religious meeting we had in 
her own chamber, she said, " It is an hard thing to be 
faithful to what one knows. Oh, the way is strait ! 
I am afraid I am not weighty enough in my spirit to 
walk in it." After another meeting, she uttered these 
words ; " I have records in my library, that the Gos- 
pel was first brought out of England hither into Ger- 
many by the English, and now it is come again." 
She once withdrew, on purpose to give her servants 
the liberty of discoursing us, that they might the more 
freely put what questions of conscience they desired 
to be satisfied in ; for they were religious ; suffering 
both them, and the poorest of her town, to sit by her, 
in her own bed-chamber, where we had two meetings. 
I cannot forget her last words, when I took my leave 
of her: "Let me desire you to remember me, though 
I live at this distance, and you should never see me 
more. I thank you for this good time ; and know 
and be assured, though my condition subjects me 
to divers temptations, yet my soul hath strong de- 
sires after the best things." She lived her single life 
till about sixty years of age, and then departed at her 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



389 



Own house in Herwerden, which was about* two years 
since ; as much lamented, as she had lived beloved 
of the people : to whose real worth, I do, with reli- 
gious gratitude for her kind reception, dedicate this 
memorial. 

34. Bulstrode Whitlock has left his own charac- 
ter in his " Memorials of English affairs a book 
that shows both his employments and greater abilities. 
He was almost ever a commissioner and companion 
with those great men, whom the lords and commons 
of England, at several times, appointed to treat with 
king Charles I. for peace. He was commissioner of 
the great seal, ambassador to the crown of Sweden, 
and sometimes president of the council : a scholar, a 
lawyer, a statesman ; in short, he was one of the most 
accomplished men of the age. Being with him some- 
time at his own house in Berkshire, where he gave me 
that account I have related of Chancellor Oxcistern, 
amongst many serious things he spoke, this was very 
observable. 

" I have ever thought, said he, there has been one 
true religion in the world ; and that is the work of the 
Spirit of God in the hearts and souls of men. There 
have been indeed divers forms and shapes of things, 
through the many dispensations of God to men, an- 
swerable to his own wise ends, in reference to the 
low and uncertain state of man in the world ; but the 
old world had the Spirit of God, for it strove with 
them ; and the new world has had the Spirit of God, 
both Jew and Gentile, and it strives with all; and 
they that have been led by it, have been the good 

* She died in 1680. And this passage was inserted in a second 
edition of this treatise, an. 1 682. 

33* 



390 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



people in every dispensation of God to the world. 
And I myself must say, I have felt it from a child to 
convince me of my evil and vanity ; and it has often 
given me a true measure of this poor world, and some 
taste of divine things ; and it is my grief I did not 
more early apply my soul to it. For I can say, since 
my retirement from the greatness and hurries of the 
world, I have felt something of the work and comfort 
of it, and that it is both ready and able to instruct, and 
lead, and preserve those who will humbly and sin- 
cerely hearken to it. So that my religion is the good 
Spirit of God in my heart ; I mean, what that has 
wrought in me and for me." After a meeting at his 
house, to which he gave an entire liberty for all that 
pleased to come, he was so deeply affected with the 
testimony of the light, spirit, and grace of Christ in 
man, as the Gospel dispensation, that after the meet- 
ing closed in prayer, he rose up, and pulled off his 
hat and said, " This is the everlasting Gospel I have 
heard this day ; and I humbly bless the name of God, 
that he has let me live to see this day, in which the 
ancient Gospel is again preached to them that dwell 
upon the earth." 

35. A sister of the family of Penn, of Penn, in 
Buckinghamshire, a young woman delighting in the 
finery and pleasures of the world, was seized with a 
violent illness which proved mortal to her. In the 
time of her sickness she fell into great distress of soul, 
bitterly bewailing the want of that inward peace which 
makes a death-bed easy to the righteous. After seve- 
ral days languishing, a little consolation appeared 
after this manner. She was some hours in a kind of 
trance ; in which she apprehended she was brought 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



391 



into a place where Christ was ; to whom if she could 
deliver her petition, she hoped to be relieved. But 
her endeavours increased her pain ; for as she pressed 
to deliver it, " He turned his back upon her," and 
would not so much as look towards her. What added 
to her sorrow was, " That she beheld others admitted. " 
However, she gave not over importuning him ; and 
when almost ready to faint, and her hope to sink, 
" he turned one side of his face towards her, and 
reached forth his hand, and received her request : at 
which her troubled soul found immediate consolation." 
Turning to those about her, she repeated what had 
befallen her ; adding, " Bring me my new clothes ; 
take off the lace and finery ;" and charged her rela- 
tions, " Not to deck and adorn themselves after the 
manner of the world ; for that the Lord Jesus, whom 
she had seen, appeared to her in the likeness of a 
plain countryman, without any trimming or orna- 
ment whatever; and that his servants ought to be like 
him-" 

36. My own Father, after thirty years employment, 
with good success, in divers places of eminent trust 
and honour in his own country ; upon a serious reflection 
not long before his death, spoke to me in this manner, 
" Son William, I am weary of the world ; I would not 
live over my days again, if I could command them 
with a wish ; for the snares of life are greater than the 
fears of death. This troubles me, that I have offend- 
ed a gracious God, who has followed me to this day. 
O have a care of sin ! That is the sting both of life 
and death. Three things I commend to you : First, 
Let nothing in this world tempt you to wrong your 
conscience ; I charge you do nothing against your 



392 NO CROSS, NO CROWN* 

conscience ; so will you keep peace at home, which 
will be a feast to you in a day of trouble. Secondly, 
Whatever you design to do, lay it justly, and time it 
seasonably ; for that gives security and dispatch. 
Lastly, Be not troubled at disappointments ; for if they 
may be recovered, do it ; if they cannot, trouble is 
vain. If you could not have helped it, be content ; 
there is often peace and profit in submitting to Provi- 
dence : for afflictions make wise. If you could have 
helped it, let not your trouble exceed instruction for 
another time. These rules will carry you with firm- 
ness and comfort through this inconstant world." At 
another time he inveighed against the profaneness and 
impiety of the age ; often crying out, with an earnest- 
ness of spirit, "Wo to thee England! God will 
judge thee O England ! Plagues are at thy door, 
England !-" He much bewailed, that divers men in 
power, and many of the nobility and gentry of the 
kingdom, w r ere grown so dissolute and profane : often 
saying, " God has forsaken us ; we are infatuated ; 
we will not see our true interests and happiness ; we 
shall be destroyed !" Apprehending the consequences 
of the growing looseness of the age to be our ruin ; 
and that the methods most fit to serve the kingdom 
with true credit at home and abroad, were too much 
neglected ; the trouble of which did not a little help 
to feed his distemper, which drew him daily nearer to 
his end : and as he believed it, so less concerned or 
disordered I never saw him at any time ; of which I 
took good notice. Wearied to live, as well as near to 
die, he took his leave of us ; and of me, with this 
expression, and a most composed countenance : " Son 
William, if you and your Friends keep to your plain 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



393 



way of preaching, and keep to your plain way of 
living, you will make an end of the priests to the end of 
the w T orld. Bury me by my mother ; live all in love : 
shun all manner of evil : and I pray God to bless you 
all ; and he will bless you."" 

37. Anthony Lowther, of Mask ; a person of good 
sense, of a sweet temper, a just mind, and of a sober 
education ; when of age to be under his own govern- 
ment, was drawn by the men of pleasure of the town 
into the usual freedoms of it, and was as much a judge 
as any body, of the satisfaction that way of living could 
yield. But some time before his sickness, with a free 
and strong judgment, he would frequently upbraid 
himself, and contemn the world, for those unseasona- 
ble as well as unchristian liberties, which so much 
abound in it ; and this apprehension was increased by 
the instruction of a long and sharp sickness. He 
would often despise their folly, and abhor their guilt : 
breathing, with some impatience, after the knowledge 
of the best things, and the best company ; losing as 
little time as he could, that he might redeem the time 
he had lost ; testifying often, with a lively relish, to 
the truth of religion, from the sense he had of it in his 
own breast ; frequently professing, " he knew no joy 
comparable to that of being assured of the love and 
mercy of God." As he often implored these with 
strong convictions, and deep humility and reverence, 
so he had frequently tastes thereof before his last pe- 
riod ; pressing his relations and friends, in a most 
serious and affectionate manner, to " love God and 
one another more, and this vile world less." Of this 
he was so full, that it was almost ever the conclusion 
of his discourses with his family. Though he some- 



394 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



times said, " he could have been willing to have lived, 
if God had pleased, to see his younger children nearer 
a settlement in the world ; yet he felt no desire to live 
longer in the world, but on the terms of living better 
in it ; for he did not only think virtue the safest, but 
the happiest way of living ; commending and com- 
manding it to his children upon his last blessing. 

I shall conclude this chapter of retired, aged and 
dying persons, with some collections I have made out 
of the life of a person of great piety and quality of the 
French nation. 

38. Du Renti, a young nobleman of France, of 
admirable parts, as well as great birth, touched with 
a sense of the vanity of the world, and the sweetness 
of a retired and religious life, notwithstanding the 
honours and employments that waited for him, aban- 
doned the pride and pomp of the world, to enjoy a 
life of more communion with God. Do but hear him : 
" I avow, saith he, that I have no relish in anything, 
where I find not Jesus Christ. And for a soul that 
speaks not of him, or in which we cannot taste any 
effect of grace flowing from his Spirit, which is the 
principle of operations, both inward and outward, that 
are solidly Christian, speak not to me at all of such 
an one. Could I, as I may say, behold both miracles 
and wonders there, and yet not Jesus Christ, nor hear 
any talk of him, I count all but amusement of spirit, 
loss of time, and a very dangerous precipice. Let us 
encourage ourselves to lead this life unknown and 
hid from men, but most known to, and intimate with 
God ; divesting ourselves, and chasing out of our minds 
&11 those many superfluities, and those many amuse- 
ments ? which bring with them so great a damage, that 



NO CROSS, NO CROW». 



395 



they take up our minds, instead of God. When I 
consider that which thwarts this holy, this sweet and 
amiable union, which we should have continually with 
God, it appears, that it is only a monsieur, a madame, 
a compliment or chatting, indeed a mere foolery ; 
which, notwithstanding, doth ravish and wrest from us 
the time that is so precious, and the fellowship that is 
so holy and so desirable. Let us quit this, I pray you, 
and learn to court it with oar own master. Let us 
well understand our part, our own world, as we here 
phrase it ; not that world, I mean, which we do re- 
nounce, but that wherein the children of God do their 
duties to their Father. There is nothing in this world 
so separate from the world, as God ; and the greater 
the saints are, the greater is their retirement into Him. 
This our Saviour taught us, whilst he lived on earth, 
being in all his visible employments united to God, 
and retired into the bosom of his Father. Since the 
time that I gave up my liberty to God, as I told you, 
I was given to understand, to what a state the soul 
must be brought, to render it capable of union with 
Him : I saw removed all exterior things, kingdoms, 
great offices, stately buildings, rich household-stuff, 
gold and silver, recreations, pleasures ; all which are 
great incumbrances to the soul's passing on to God ; 
of which therefore his pleasure is, that she be strip- 
ped, that she may arrive at the point of nakedness and 
death, which will bring her into possession of solid 
riches and real life. Assure yourself, there is no secu- 
rity in any estate, but this of dying ; which is, to be 
baptized into Christ's 4 death,' that we live the life of 
mortification. Our best way is, therefore, to divest 
ourselves of all, that the holy child Jesus may govern 



396 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



all. All that can be imagined in this lower world, is 
of small concernment, though it were the losing of all 
our goods ; this poor ant-hill is not worthy of a serious 
thought. Had we but a little faith, and a little love, 
how happy should we esteem ourselves, in giving 
away all, to attend no more, save on God alone ; and 
to say, My God, and my all ! 

" Being, saith he, in a chapel richly wainscotted and 
adorned with very excellent sculpture, and with image- 
ry, I beheld it with some attention, having had some 
skill in these things, and saw the bundles of flowers- 
de-luce, and of flowers in form of borders, and of very 
curious workmanship ; it was on a sudden put into my 
mind, ' The original of what thou seest, would not 
detain thee at all in seeing it.' And I perceived that 
all these, and the flowers themselves, not in pictures, 
would not have taken me up ; and all the ornaments 
which architecture and art invent, are but things mean 
and low, running in a manner only upon flowers, fruits, 
branches, harpies, and chimeras; yet man renders 
himself a slave of them ; as if a good workman should 
stand to copy out and counterfeit some trifles and fop- 
peries. I considered by this sight how poor man was 
cheated, amused, and diverted from his Sovereign 
good. And since that time, I could make no more 
stand to consider any of these things ; and if I did it, 
I should reproach myself for it ; as no sooner seeing 
them in churches, or elsewhere, but this is presently 
put upon my spirit, the original is as nothing, the copy 
and the image is yet less : Each thing is vain, except 
the employment of ourselves about God alone. An 
absolute abnegation will be necessary to all things, to 
follow in simplicity, without reserve or reflection, what 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



397 



our Saviour shall work in us, or appoint for us, let it 
be this or that. This way was showed me, in which 
I ought to walk towards him ; and hence it is, that all 
things to me ordinarily are without any gust or delight. 
I assure you, it is a great shame to a Christian, to pass 
his days in this world more at ease than Jesus Christ 
passed his. Ah ! had we but a little faith, what repose 
could we take out of the cross !" I will conclude 
his sayings with his dying blessing to his surviving 
children. 

" I pray God bless you ; and may it please him to 
bless you, and to preserve you by his grace from the 
evil of the world, that you may have no part therein : 
and above all, my children, that you may live in the 
fear and love of God, and yield due obedience to your 
mother." 

Expressions of weight and moment to the immortal 
good of men, which abundantly prove that the author 
was a man of an enlightened mind, mortified to the 
world, and quickened to some tastes of a supernatural 
life. Let his youth, let his quality, adorned with so 
much zeal and piety, so much self-denial and con- 
stancy, become exemplary to those of worldly quality, 
who may be the readers of this book. Some, perhaps, 
will hear that truth from the several authors I have 
reported, whose names, death and time have recover- 
ed from the envy of men, who would hardly endure 
it from me, if at all from the living. Be it as it will, 
I shall abundantly rejoice, if God shall please to make 
any part of this discourse effectual to persuade any 
into the love of holiness, without which, certain it is, 
no man shall see the Lord : But the pure in heart shall 
behold him forever. 

34 



398 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



To conclude : I cannot omit this reflection upon 
what is observed of the sayings of dying men, and 
which to me seems to have great instruction in it, viz., 
All men agree, when they come to die, it is best to be 
religious; to live an holy, humble, strict, and self- 
denying life ; retired, solitary, temperate, and disen- 
cumbered of the world. Then, loving God above all, 
and our neighbours as ourselves, forgiving our ene- 
mies, and praying for them, are solid things and the 
essential part of religion, as the true ground of man's 
happiness : then, all sin is exceeding sinful, and yields 
no more pleasure ; every inordinate desire is burden- 
some and severely reproved ; then, the world, with 
all the lawful comforts in it, weighs light against that 
sense and judgment, which such men have between 
temporal and eternal things. And since it is thus with 
dying men, what instruction is it to the living, whose 
pretence, for the most part, is a perpetual contradic- 
tion ? 0! that men would learn to "Number their 
days, that they might apply their hearts to wisdom ;" 
of which the fear of the Lord is the true and only be- 
ginning. And " Blessed are they that fear always, for 
their feet shall be preserved from the snare of death." 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



399 



CHAPTER XXII. 

1. Of the way of living amongst the first Christians. 2. An exhorta- 
tion to all professing Christianity, to embrace the foregoing reasons 
and examples. 3. Plain dealing with such as reject them. 4. Their 
recompenses. 5. The author is belter persuaded and assured of 
some : An exhortation to them. 6. Encouragement to the children 
of light to persevere, from a consideration of the excellency of their 
reward; the end and triumph of the Christian conqueror. The whole 
concluded with a brief supplication to Almighty God. 

THE CONCLUSION. 

1. Having finished as many testimonies, as my time 
would give me leave, in favour of this subject, No 
Cross, No Crown ; no temperance, no happiness ; no 
virtue, no reward ; no mortification, no glorification ; 
I shall conclude with a short description of the life 
and worship of the Christians, within the first century, 
or hundred years after Christ : What simplicity, what 
spirituality, what holy love and communion, in that 
blessed age, abounded among them ! It is delivered 
originally by Philo Judseus, and cited by Eusebius 
Pamphilius, in his Ecclesiastical history ; " That those 
Christians renounced their substance, and severed 
themselves from all the cares of this life ; and forsak- 
ing the cities, they lived solitarily in fields and gardens. 
They accounted the company of those who followed 
the contrary life of cares and bustles, unprofitable and 
hurtful to them ; to the end that with earnest and fer- 
vent desires, they might imitate those who led this 
prophetical and heavenly life. In many places, says 
he, this people live, for it behoveth as well the Gre- 
cians as the Barbarian, to be partakers of this absolute 
goodness ; but in Egypt, in every province they abound ; 



400 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 



and especially about Alexandria. From all parts the 
better sort withdrew themselves to the place of these 
worshippers, as they were called, as a most commo- 
dious place, adjoining to the lake of Mary, in a valley 
very fit, both for its security and the temperance of the 
air. They are farther reported to have meeting-houses, 
where the most part of the day is employed in wor- 
shipping God : Their religion consisted not chiefly in 
reading the letter, disputing about it, or accepting 
things in literal constructions, but in the things de- 
clared of, the substance itself ; bringing things nearer 
to the mind, and pressing into a more hidden and hea- 
venly sense ; making religion to consist in the tempe- 
rance and sanctity of the mind, and not in formal bo- 
dily worship, so much now-a-days in repute, fitter to 
please comedians than Christians. Such was the prac- 
tice of those times : But now the case is altered ; peo- 
ple will be Christians, and have their worldly-mind- 
edness too : But though God's kingdom suffer violence 
by such, yet shall they never enter : The life of Christ 
and his followers hath in all ages been another thino- ; 
and there is but one way, one guide, one rest ; all 
which are pure and holy. 

2. But if any, notwithstanding our many sober 
reasons and numerous testimonies from Scripture, or 
the example or experience of religious, worldly and 
profane, living and dying men, at home and abroad, 
of the greatest note, fame, and learning, in the whole 
world, shall yet remain lovers and imitators of the 
folly and the vanity condemned ; if the cries and 
groans, sighs, and tears, and complaints, and mourn- 
ful wishes of so many reputed great, nay, some sober 
men — " that I had more time ! that I might live 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



401 



a year longer, I would live a stricter life ! — that I 
were a poor Jean Urick ! — All is vanity in this world : 
— my poor soul, whither wilt thou go ? — that I 
had the time misspent in vain recreations ! — A serious 
life is above all ;" and such like ; if, I say, this by no 
means can prevail, but if yet they shall proceed to 
folly, and follow the vain world, what greater evidence 
can they give of their heady resolution to go on impi- 
ously ; to despise God ; to disobey his precepts ; to 
deny Christ; to scorn, not to bear his cross; to for- 
sake the examples of his servants ; to give the lie to 
the dying, serious sayings and consent of all ages ; to 
harden themselves against the checks of conscience ; 
to befool and sport away their precious time, and poor 
immortal souls to wo and misery? In short, it is 
plainly to discover you neither have reason to justify 
yourselves, nor yet enough of modesty to blush at your 
own folly ; but, as those who have lost the sense of 
one and the other, go on to " eat and drink, and rise 
up to play." In vain therefore is it for you to pretend 
to fear the God of heaven, whose minds serve the 
god of the pleasure of this world. In vain is it to say, 
you believe in Christ, who receive not his self-denying 
doctrine: and to no better purpose will all you do, 
avail. If he who had loved " God and his neighbour, 
and kept the commandments, from his youth," was 
excluded from being a disciple, " because he sold not 
all and followed Jesus;" with what confidence can 
you call yourselves Christians, who have neither kept 
the commandments, nor yet forsaken anything to be 
so ? And if it was a bar betwixt him and the eternal 
life he sought, that notwithstanding all his other vir- 
tues, love to money, and his external possessions, 
34* 



402 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

" could not be parted with ;" what shall be your end, 
who cannot deny yourselves many less things, but are 
daily multiplying your inventions, to please your fleshly 
appetites ? Certainly, much more impossible is it to 
forsake the greater. Christ tried his love, in bidding 
him forsake all, because he knew, for all his brag, 
that his mind was riveted therein ; not that if he had 
enjoyed his possessions with Christian indifferency, 
they might not have been continued. But what then 
is their doom, whose hearts are so fixed in the vanities 
of the world, that they will rather make them Chris- 
tian, than not to be Christians in the use of them ? 
But such a Christian this young man might have been, 
who had more to say for himself than the strictest 
Pharisee living dare pretend to : yet " he went away 
sorrowful from Jesus." Should I ask you, if Nicode- 
mus did well to come by night, and be ashamed of the 
great Messiah of the world ? And if he was not igno- 
rant when Christ spake to him of the new birth ? I 
know you would answer me, " He did very ill, and 
was very ignorant." But, stay awhile, the beam is in 
your own eyes. You are ready, doubtless, to condemn 
him and the young man, for not doing what you not 
only refuse to do yourselves, but laugh at others for 
doing. Nay, had such passages not been written, and 
were it not for the reverence some pretend for the 
Scriptures, they would both be as stupid as Nicode- 
mus in their answers to such heavenly matters, and 
ready to call it canting to speak so, as it is frequent 
for you, when we speak to the same effect, though not 
the same words : just as the Jews, at what time they 
called God their Father, despised his Son ; and when 
he spake of sublime and heavenly mysteries, some 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 403 

cried, "He has a devil others, " He is mad :" and 
most of them, " These are hard sayings, who can bear 
them?" 

3. To you all, who sport yourselves after the manner 
of the world, let me say, that you are of those who pro- 
fess you know God, but in works deny him ; living 
in those pleasures which slay the Just in yourselves. 
For though you talk of believing, it is no more than 
taking it for granted that there is a God, a Christ, 
Scriptures, &c, without farther concerning yourselves 
to prove the verity thereof, to yourselves or others, by 
a strict and holy conversation : which slight way of 
believing is but a light and careless way of ridding 
yourselves of farther examination ; and rather throwing 
them off with an inconsiderate granting of them to be 
so, than giving yourselves the trouble of making bet- 
ter inquiry, leaving that to your priests, ofttimes more 
ignorant, and not less vain and idle, than yourselves, 
which is so far from a Gospel faith, that it is the least 
respect you can show to God, Scriptures, &c, and 
next to a denial of all. 

But if you have hitherto laid aside all temperance, 
reason and shame, at least be intreated to resume them 
now in a matter of this importance, and whereon no 
less concernment rests, than your temporal and eternal 
happiness. Oh! retire, retire; observe the reproofs 
of instruction in your own minds : that which begets 
sadness in the midst of mirth, which cannot solace 
itself, nor be contented below immortality ; which calls 
often to an account at nights, mornings, and other 
seasons ; which lets you see the vanity, the folly, the 
end and misery of these things : This is the Just and 
Holy Spirit of the Almighty within you : hear him, 



404 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



obey him, converse with them who are led by him ; 
and let the glories of another world be eyed, and the 
heavenly recompense of reward kept in sight. Admit 
not the thoughts of former follies to revive : but be 
steady, and continually exercised by his Grace, " to 
deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, 
righteously and godly in this present world.-' For 
this is the true and heavenly nature of Christianity, 
To be so awakened and guided by the Spirit and 
Grace of God, as to leave the sins and vanities of the 
world, and to have the affections regenerated, the mind 
reformed, and the whole man so baptized into purity 
and faithfulness towards God and man, as to act with 
reverence, justice and mercy. To care for very few 
things ; to be content with what you have ; to use all 
as if you used them not ; and to be so disentangled 
from the lusts, pleasures, profits, and honours of the 
world, as to have the mind raised to things above, the 
heart and affections fixed there : that in all things you 
may glorify God, and be as lights set on an hill, whose 
shining examples may conduce to the happiness of 
others, who beholding such good work, may be con- 
verted, and glorify God the Father of lights, in whom 
you all would be eternally blessed. 

4. But if the impenitence of any is so great, their 
pursuit of folly so earnest, that, notwithstanding what 
has been thus seriously offered to reclaim them, they 
are resolved to take their course, and not to be at lei- 
sure for more divine things, I have this farther to leave 
with them from the Almighty, who first called me to 
this work ; That tribulation, anguish and sorrow shall 
make their dying beds ; indignation and wrath shall 
wind up their days ; and trouble and vexation of spi- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



405 



rit shall be the miserable fruits which they shall reap, 
as the reward of all their wretched folly and rebellion ! 
Be not deceived, God will not be mocked : it is irre- 
versibly decreed ; " Whatsoever is sown here, shall 
be'reaped hereafter." And just is the Almighty, to 
make good his determinations upon such, who instead 
of employing the time given them, to " work out their 
salvation with fear and trembling," have spent it in 
the pleasures of the flesh, which perisheth ; as if their 
heaven were here. Nor can it seem unreasonable, 
since he hath thus long waited with remission of sins 
and eternal life in his hand, to distribute to those who 
repent ; that if such will not, to recompense so great 
obstinacy and love of this perishing world, with ever- 
lasting tribulation. 

5. But I am otherwise persuaded of many ; yea, I 
am assured the mercies of the everlasting God have 
been so extended to many, that this will prove an 
effectual call to bring them out of the ways and cus- 
toms of this corrupted and corrupting world ; and a 
means for establishing such, w T ho hitherto have been 
unfaithful to what they have been already convinced 
of. And you, my friends, whose minds have received 
the alarm, whose hearts have truly heard the voice of 
one crying in the wilderness, where you have been 
straying from the Lord, repent, repent ! to you, in the 
name of the great and living God, I speak, I cry, 
Come away, come away ; ah ! what do you dp there ? 
Why are you yet behind ? That is not your rest : it 
is polluted with the sins and vanities of a perishing 
world. Gird up your loins : one and all, eye your 
light, Christ Jesus, the same yesterday, to-day, and 
forever j who hath enlightened every one; Follow 



406 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



him ; he will lead you to the city of God, that has 
foundations, into which the wicked cannot enter. 

6. Mind not the difficulties of your march. Great 
and good things were never enterprised and accom- 
plished without difficulty ; which does but render 
their enjoyment more pleasant and glorious in the end. 
Let the holy men and women of old be your exam- 
ples. Remember good old Abraham, the excellency 
of whose faith is set out by his obedience to the voice 
of God, in forsaking his father's house, kindred, and 
country. And Moses, who might in probability have 
been made a king, by faith in God, leaves Egypt's 
glory and Pharaoh's favours, and chooses rather to 
sojourn and travel with the despised, afflicted, tor- 
mented Israelites in the wilderness, than to enjoy the 
pleasures of that great court for a season ; esteeming 
Christ's reproaches greater riches than Egypt's trea- 
sures. But, above all, how great was the reproach, 
how many the sufferings, how bitter the mockings, 
which Jesus suffered at the hands of his enemies ? 
Yet with what patience, meekness, forgiveness and 
constancy, did he in all his actions demean himself 
towards his bloody persecutors, " despising the shame, 
and enduring the cross, for the joy that was set before 
him ? He hath left us this glorious example, that w T e 
should follow his steps ;" which hath in almost every 
age been imitated by some. The apostles sealed their 
testimonies with their blood, and multitudes followed 
the example of their constancy ; esteeming it the 
greatest honour, as it w T as always attended with the 
most signal demonstrations of the Divine presence. 
How memorable w r as that of Origen ? "If my 
father were weeping upon his knees before me, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



407 



and my mother hanging about my neck behind 
me, and all my brethren, sisters, and kinsfolk la- 
menting on every side, to retain me in the life and 
practice of the world, I would fling my mother to the 
ground, run over my father, despise all my kindred, 
and tread them under my feet, that I might run to 
Christ." Yet it is not unknown, how dutiful and 
tender he was in those relations. Not much unlike to 
this, was that noble and known instance of latter times, 
in Galeacius Caracciolus, marquis of Vico, who aban- 
doned his friends, estate and country, resolutely say- 
ing with Moses, " That he would rather suffer afflic- 
tions with the first reformers and Protestants, than 
enjoy his former plenty, favours and pleasures with 
his old religion," Nor is it possible for any now to 
quit the world and live a serious and godly life in 
Christ, without the like suffering and persecution. 
There are among us also some, who have suffered the 
displeasure of their most dear and intimate relations 
and friends, and all those troubles, disgraces and re- 
proaches which are accustomed to attend such as 
decline the honours, pleasures, ambition and prefer- 
ments of the world, and that choose to live an humble, 
serious, and self-denying life before the Lord. But 
they are very unequal to the joy and recompense that 
follow. For though there be no affliction that is not 
grievous for the present, yet what says the man of 
God ? " It works afar more exceeding weight of glory 
in the end." This has been both the faith and expe- 
rience of those, who in all ages, have trusted in God, 
who have not fainted by the way ; but enduring, have 
obtained an eternal diadem. 

Wherefore, since we are compassed about with so 



408 



" great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every 
weight and burden, and the sin and vanities which 
so easily beset us ;" and with a constant, holy pa- 
tience, run our race, having our eyes fixed upon Jesus, 
the author and finisher of our faith, not minding what 
is behind : so shall we be delivered from every snare. 
No temptations shall gain us, no frowns shall scare us 
from Christ's cross and our blessed self-denial : And 
honour, glory, immortality, and a crown of eternal life, 
shall recompense all our sufferings in the end. 

Lord God ! Thou lovest holiness, and purity is 
thy delight in the earth. Wherefore, I pray thee, 
make an end of sin, and finish transgression, and 
bring in thy everlasting righteousness to the souls of 
men, that thy poor creation may be delivered from the 
bondage it groans under, and the earth enjoy her 
sabbath again : That thy great name may be lifted up 
in all nations, and thy salvation renowned to the ends 
of the world. For thine is the kingdom, the power, 
and the glory forever. Amen. 



THE END. 



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